Peace of Mind
by CSIcorrespondent
Summary: The heat has Emily coming to Hotch's rescue, and he's not letting her leave until he thanks her properly. H/P with Jack! Nothing too dramatic.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Thought I would try doing a short piece. I'm going through CM withdrawal. If you like cross-overs, check out my other fic A Roaring Good. It features Criminal Minds, Jurassic Park, and Tintin. Super weird, I know. But sometimes you just can't hold back. All mistakes are my own. Please leave a review if you can! Thanks for reading!_

_Disclaimer: I do not hold rights to CBS' Criminal Minds or any of its characters, and do not intend to collect any profits for the use of the characters. _

The moment Emily Prentiss stepped into the heat, she immediately regretted it. Slipping off her work blazer, she swung it over her shoulder and made her way to her vehicle. Once the door was unlocked, she slipped her blazer onto the seat before getting in. There was nothing like getting a sting from leather seats that had been soaking up the sun all day, and she was intent on avoiding such an incident.

Pulling out of her parking spot, she glanced down for a moment to turn on the air conditioning. The moment her eyes looked up she slammed on the breaks. What the hell was he doing?

"Hotch! I almost bulldozed you!" She wiped her hand across her forehead. "You gave me one hell of a heart attack."

"Sorry Prentiss, I was trying to get a better angle." Hotch gestured to his car. "Two flats. One spare. Guess I shouldn't even bother, right?" He smiled guiltily at her. "I apologize. It was a stupid move."

"That would be one word for it," she answered, smirking. "Did you call Triple A?"

"Yes, but they said it would be a couple hours. Too many other vehicles with the same problem." He checked his watch. "And I need to pick up Jack in an hour from school. Jessica's out of town this week."

Emily nodded. "Hop in, I can take you no problem."

"Are you sure? I can always catch a cab."

"Hotch, by the time you call and wait for one, it'll be at least twenty minutes. Just get in," she said, unlocking the doors. "I'm serious, let's move. It's almost rush hour."

Without hesitation, Hotch grabbed his briefcase from the backseat of his vehicle and climbed into Emily's passenger seat. He buckled his seatbelt and nodded, shooting her a small smile. "I really appreciate this Prentiss. I owe you one."

Emily waved her hand at him. "Don't be ridiculous, you'd do the same for me. Now how do I get to Jack's school?"

Hotch gave her directions and she pulled out into the interstate. The drive was relatively quiet with the occasional chit chat leaning towards Jack. Emily silently thanked him for not bringing up their past case.

"It's the next left."

Emily nodded and turned into a large cul-de-sac. She put the vehicle in park and turned to Hotch. "Should I just hang out here?"

"Sure, I'll only be a second," he answered. "He should be ready to go by now."

"Ok, I'll keep the A/C running." Hotch nodded and slipped out of the vehicle. She watched him disappear into the school and reclined her seat slightly, staring out the window.

Sure enough, she wasn't kept waiting for long. She saw the young blonde boy run down the stairs ahead of his father and hurry to the front seat.

"Emily, I beat Daddy! So he has to sit in the back," Jack said excitedly, climbing into the front seat. He laughed as he saw Hotch pout dramatically as he made his way to the rear doors. "Daddy I beat you!"

"You did buddy, I never had a chance!" Hotch sighed dramatically. "What did you learn in school today?"

"Multiplication on the eight row. It was hard but I did fine."

"Good boy." Hotch reached across the arm rest and ruffled his son's hair. "Did you know that Emily rescued me today? I almost didn't get here in time."

"Emily, you really saved Daddy?" Jack asked, looking up at her. She bit her lip to keep from smiling and nodded. "Thank you Emily!"

"You're welcome handsome. It was my pleasure," she replied, leaning over to take his school bag. "Now buckle your seat belt." Passing his bag to Hotch, she made eye contact with him in the rear view mirror. "Where to?"

"Just to my place is fine." Emily pulled out of the cul-de-sac, chuckling as Jack squirmed next to her. She turned up the air conditioning, and switched on the radio to a top forty station.

"Emily, what's your favorite song?" Jack asked, tapping his fingers on her console.

"That's a good question buddy. I actually really like classical music, do you know what that is?"

"Is that the violin? My friend Sarah says she plays classical stuff and she plays the violin," Jack explained.

Emily nodded. "Violins are part of it, you're right." She switched the station to one of her favorites. "Hear it? It's so beautiful."

Jack nodded his head vigorously. "I like it. Can I learn to play classical Daddy?"

Hotch smiled in the back seat. "Sure buddy, maybe in another year when you're a little older."

Emily bit her lip. She wanted to mention that it was better for him to start at a younger age, but it wasn't her place to give him advice on how to raise his son. "When you learn, you'll have to invite me to your first concert so I can hear you play."

Jack lifted his hand and reached it out towards Emily. "Shake on it."

Emily laughed and took the young boy's hand briefly. "Deal."

Taking the next left, Emily pulled up to Hotch's condo. "Here we are!"

"Yay! Daddy, can Emily come in?"

"Oh no, I should be getting home Hotch. Don't worry about it," she said sheepishly, not wanting to interrupt on the father-son bonding time.

"Nonsense Prentiss, come in. The least you can do is let me make you dinner," Hotch said, reaching out to rest a hand on her arm. "You and Jack can catch up."

Emily hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help break her resolve when she saw the look on Jack's face. "Ok, I suppose that would be fine. I wasn't going to do much anyway, probably get reacquainted with Ben and Jerry." She turned off the vehicle. "Is it ok to park here?"

Hotch nodded and opened his door, tucking his briefcase against his side while holding Jack's school bag. "Come on buddy, let's get inside so we can get dinner started."

Jack cheered and raced out of the vehicle, sprinting towards the front door. Both adults chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Really Hotch, I don't have to stay. I know you haven't seen Jack in a while because of back to back cases." She picked up Jack's bag from his grasp and followed him to the house.

"It's really not an issue, he loves that you're here," Hotch insisted, pointing to the open door. "Go ahead, I just need to call Triple A to set up an appointment for tomorrow morning."

Emily smiled and walked into his house. Her evening was taking an unexpected turn, and she was intrigued as to how the rest of the night would play out. She laughed when she heard Jack ask "Emily, who are Ben and Jerry?"

_OK that's it for now! Shoot me a review if you want to see how the dinner turns out! _


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Well holy crap! I'm blown away by the response to the first chapter. Thanks to everyone that took the time to send me a review and follow this story. Ask and you shall receive!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

"No buddy, they aren't my boyfriends." Emily bit her lip as she tried not to laugh at Jack. "They make one of my favorite ice creams. Maybe one time I'll bring some for you to try if your dad says it's ok."

"He will, we eat it all the time," Jack said, nodding his head seriously. "My favorite kind is chocolate."

"Ok, I'll keep that in mind." Her eyes shot toward the front door as she heard Hotch enter the house. "Everything ok?"

"Yes, they said they would get to it first thing tomorrow morning thankfully. I just have to call once I'm at the office," Hotch answered. "Are you being good for Emily buddy?"

"I was Daddy. We were talking about the next time Emily comes over," Jack said, smiling at Emily. She laughed.

"Ok, how about we start dinner then? What would you like?" Hotch went to the pantry and stared at its contents. It was pretty bare.

"How about macaroni and cheese? Do you like that Emily?" The brunette nodded. Jack pointed at his father. "Daddy makes the best in the whole wide world."

"We don't have any buddy. We might have to order pizza, is that ok?" Jack scrunched up his face. "No?"

"I ate pizza at lunch today. It made my tummy feel weird."

"Ok, let's see." Hotch looked at Emily. "Any suggestions?"

"Do you have milk, butter and cheese?" Hotch nodded. "How about I make you a special macaroni and cheese, what do you think Jack?"

"Yes please!" Jack answered, smiling. "Is it yummy?"

"Very yummy, my mom taught me how to make it," Emily said, smiling faintly at a memory. "I think you'll love it."

Hotch looked at her nervously. "Emily, you don't have to do this. I can run out and grab something, it's no trouble."

"And it's no trouble for me either. I haven't had a lot of time to cook recently, and it's a really simple recipe. It'll relax me too, so honestly it's not a problem." Emily walked over to the pantry. "Jack, is it ok if I use these noodles instead of macaroni shapes?" She held up a bag of fusilli pasta and the boy nodded.

"What else do you need?" Hotch asked, conceding defeat. He knew that once Emily set her mind to do something, there wasn't much he could say to persuade her otherwise unless it was an order. And he definitely wasn't going to pull rank in his kitchen. "Milk, butter and cheese is in the fridge."

"Just flour, if you have it." Hotch nodded, passing her a ceramic container from the side of the pantry. "Ok, that should be ok. Now I just need a saucepan and a large pot to boil some water."

"Sure, everything's over here." Hotch showed her the outline of the kitchen, pointing out where all of the various cookware and utensils were. He was impressed at how easily she moved through the kitchen. "Should I be calling you Top Chef from now on Prentiss?"

Emily laughed. "I'm hardly a top chef, but Mother did take the time whenever she had it to give me some cooking lessons when I was younger. She always said that a woman had to know how to please her man, and at least fifty percent of that was controlled in the kitchen."

"Well just let me know what I can do to help." He looked at his son. "Buddy, do you want to change out of your school clothes really quick and wash your hands?"

"Sure Daddy, I'll be fast. I wanna watch Emily cook for us!" Jack raced up the stairs to his room. "Yum yum yum!"

Emily laughed, shaking her head. "What a kid, he's such a sweetie. I missed him." She took the liberty to open the freezer, analyzing the contents. "Does he like chicken or bacon?"

Hotch nodded. "He loves both. Are you thinking of adding some?" He glanced at the boiling pot of water she had on the stove. "Salt is in the top right cupboard if you need it."

"Thanks. And yes, I was thinking of adding some, it just makes the flavor of the sauce really pop. Maybe I'll go with bacon, I've been craving it lately." Emily pulled the package of bacon out of the freezer and slid it into the microwave, starting it on defrost. "I'll just do it in the microwave if you don't mind. Cooks a little quicker and I don't want any grease splashing Jack accidentally."

"Sure, that's how I usually do it also. What else can I do to help?"

"Honestly, just relax. You're helping by sitting right there," Emily answered, winking briefly at him. "But maybe when Jack finishes you can help him add the pasta."

"I'm back Emily, why were you talking about me?" Jack came bounding into the kitchen.

"Well, I thought you could help your dad with a special mission. Interested?" Jack nodded his head vigorously. "Ok, come over here. Now this is one of the most important parts. You have to be careful not to add it too fast or it'll splash you." She handed the boy the bag of pasta and nodded to Hotch. He picked the boy up by one arm to help give him a boost. "Now go ahead and pour it in."

Jack tipped the bag slowly and a few pieces of pasta fell out slowly. "Is this slow enough?"

"You can do it a little faster buddy, but not too much," Hotch instructed. His arm strained against the weight and he decided he definitely needed to spend some more time at the gym.

Jack tipped the bag steeper and smiled as most of the pasta fell into the boiling pot. "How much of it Emily?"

"You can add all of it, that way you can eat it two nights in a row if you like it enough." Emily pulled the defrosted bacon out of the microwave and started separating it. "Ok, that pasta should take about twelve minutes. We have time for a little break, want to practice your multiplication?"

Jack nodded. "Tell me the numbers to do Emily. I can't do past eight though."

Emily started saying combinations and high fived Jack every time he got it right. "Wow Hotch, you have one really smart boy here! Great job Jack!"

"Yes, he definitely gets that from-" He trailed off and redirected his sentence. "He studies a lot. I'm proud of him."

Emily winced, knowing that he had been about to mention his late wife. She smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure he does." She checked her watch. "Ok, who wants to help me put in this bacon?"

"Me Emily! Pick me!" Jack hurried over and stood in front of the microwave.

"Ok, press the number four three times," she directed. She watched the boy press the numbers slowly. "Ok, now the start button. Good job."

Hotch smiled at the scene in front of him. Although he had considered his relationship with Emily to be strong, he had to admit that the side of her he was experiencing now surprised him a little. And Jack seemed to be extremely enjoying himself, and at the end of the day the smile on his son's face was definitely priceless. He pulled out a wooden spoon and stirred the pasta, laughing as Emily glared at him. "What?"

"Nothing, I'll let it slide." She pulled out a smaller saucepan. "Jack, want me to teach you how to make this? That way you can help your dad when I'm not here if you want to eat it again." The boy ran up to her, staring into the pot.

"Here buddy, why don't you write it down?" Hotch passed his son a notepad and pen. "That way we both won't forget."

"Ok, here's what you do." Emily spooned out a few large scoops of butter. "Take about three big chunks of the butter and start that in the pan." She pointed to the stove. "But you only want it on the number five so it doesn't burn." Reaching for a whisk, she took it in her hand and started to beat the melting butter. "This is called a whisk, and it'll help me mix. See, now it's all melted."

Jack nodded, his eyes focused on the pan. He glanced down to write "whisk butter on five" and showed it to Emily.

"Good buddy, add an H between the W and I. Ok, so now I'm going to take a big scoop of this flour." She reached over to the ceramic jar. "But make sure you use a different spoon as the butter so you don't get any in here." She dropped the flour into the butter and started mixing the two together. "This is called a roux. R-O-U-X." She waited for Jack to finish his notes and nodded at his pad. "You getting this too Hotch?"

"Yes, I was fortunate enough to learn how to make a roux in home economics," Hotch admitted. Emily smirked at the vision of him in an apron and he just shot her a playful glare. "Continue, Miss Top Chef."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Ok Jack, now we add the milk. I'm think about two cups should be ok." She measured the milk and added it to the pan while beating the roux into it as she went. "You want it to be smooth with no lumps ok?"

Jack nodded. "When do we add that?" He pointed to the cheese.

"Soon, we just need the milk to heat up a little more so that it will melt easier." She looked at the pasta. "This is almost done. Hotch, do you mind straining it in a minute? I'm going to cut up the bacon."

"What happened to me staying out of the kitchen?" He chuckled at her look. "Just give me a second. Want me to rinse the noodles as well?"

"Sure, that would be great. We're almost done here." She took the bacon out of the microwave and set it aside. "Ok Jack, the milk is starting to steam, so now we can add the cheese. Two cups so it'll be extra cheesy, just like your dad."

"Daddy, you're cheesy!" Jack giggled as he poured the cheese in. "That's ok, I like cheese."

"Thanks buddy."

Emily smirked as she whisked the cheese into the sauce. Every now and again she loved to bust his chops. "Ok, this is looking good. Now a little salt and pepper, and the grand finale. Bacon!"

"Hurray!" Jack reached over to the plate and touched it carefully. "It's not hot, can I put it in?"

"Just let me break it up, that way we can have a little bit with each bite." Emily reached under the sink to grab a cutting board and pulled out a small knife. "You'll have to get your dad to do this part until you're a little older." Jack nodded obediently, watching her cut the bacon into small pieces. "Ok, you can put it in now."

Once the bacon was in the sauce, Emily passed a ladle to Jack and showed him how to stir it. "We don't need the whisk anymore, but I'm going to clean it right now so the cheese doesn't stick to it." She turned on the sink, rubbing her fingers against the metal wires. "There, all done."

"Is it done?" Emily nodded. "Daddy, it's time. Did you set the table?"

Hotch shook his head. "Let me do it now buddy. You go sit at your spot and I'll help Emily."

Jack nodded and ran to the table, slipping into his chair.

Emily bumped her shoulder against the man standing next to her. "Emily, huh?"

"Oh, sorry it just slipped out."

"I'm just teasing you," she said, winking at him. "Besides, it is my name, and we're not at work."

"That's true, we aren't." He paused for a moment, debating with himself if the situation was becoming too personal. Screw it. "And I happen to also have a first name as well. You don't have to be afraid to use it."

"Oh yeah? I may have heard of it." She passed him the sauce. "Here, I'll be right behind you."

"Ok." Shaking off the guilty feeling, he set the sauce down on the table. Emily set the pasta next to him and sat next to Jack. "Buddy, do you want a few carrots too? We need a vegetable."

Jack nodded his head. "Yes please." He smiled at Emily. "Can I try it now?"

"Sure, let me help you out." She reached for a plate and gave him a small helping of pasta and poured the sauce over it. "Let me know what you think."

Jack nodded, stabbing at the pasta on his plate. Bringing it to his mouth, his eyes went wide as he chewed. "Emily! This is the best!"

Emily smiled, rubbing his shoulder. "Thanks buddy. Now you're an expert so you can make it again if I'm not here."

"Daddy, you have to eat this!" Jack shoved Hotch's plate towards him. "It's the best."

"Ok, let me get some." Hotch set a plate of carrots down in the center and helped himself to the food. He smiled and nodded as he chewed. "This is delicious Emily, thank you."

"You're welcome…Aaron." She blushed slightly, meeting his eyes. He smiled and continued eating. "I'm glad you took the risk."

"Anytime," he said. "You'll have to come again. We're enjoying having you, aren't we Jack?"

"Yes Emily, come again. It's so fun! And yummy."

"Ok, well if work doesn't get too crazy then I would love to come again." She reached over and went to collect Hotch's plate, but he shook his head."

"No, you cooked so I'm handling these. Those are the rules." Emily nodded, smiling at him. "Are you done buddy?"

"Yes, I'm so full!" Jack smiled at Emily. "I can't even fit in any ice cream!"

"Ok, help me clear the table." Hotch glanced at the clock. "We still have an hour before bedtime, so we can watch a video if we're fast."

"Yay a video!" Jack jumped out of his chair. "Can Emily stay too?"

Emily bit her lip. She really wanted to stay too. "I probably shouldn't stay too much longer buddy."

"Nonsense Prentiss, you can stay for another hour. Don't worry about it, unless you have things to get back to." Hotch stared at her, blinking once.

"Well, I suppose I could for a little longer." She smirked at the authoritative change to their conversion.

"Ok, why don't you make yourself at home on the couch? We'll only be a few minutes." Emily nodded and stood up, making her way to the sofa. She sat down slowly, staring at all of the pictures. The walls were lined with pictures of Haley and Jack together. Her heart sank a little, reflecting back on the moments she had spent with Hotch's ex-wife. Even though she knew there were many factors contributing to the separation between the two, Emily had always respected the woman. The strength she had shown in the face of Foyet was something Emily would always remember.

"Emily, we're done," Jack announced, coming into the living room and sitting next to the woman. "Were you lonely?"

"A little bit, but you're here now," she answered, smiling at the boy. "What are we going to watch?"

"Daddy bought me a movie about the water." Jack reached over and showed her a copy of an ocean documentary. "I like sharks."

"Sounds good to me!"

"Ready buddy?" Hotch walked into the living room and took the DVD that his son handed him. "Ok, let's do it." He popped in the movie and stared at the couch. Jack had curled up next to Emily's left side, but her right side wasn't occupied. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not." Emily moved her legs so that Hotch could sit down. "It's your house, Hotch. And I don't bite. Hard."

Hotch smirked and sat down next to her. With a push of the remote, the video started. Jack was entranced as he watched, and Emily had to admit that she was slightly mesmorized by the film.

"So, I should thank you," Hotch started, breaking the silence. Emily turned towards him questioningly. "You really made his day, and mine."

"Oh, you're welcome. Anytime, it really wasn't a problem." Emily smiled at him. "I really enjoyed myself."

"Good." He leaned a touch closer to her. "Come anytime Emily."

She nodded. "I will." She yawned as the movie credits started to roll and looked down at the boy leaning against her. "He's out. Should we move him?"

"Yeah, let me turn this off. I'll get him." Hotch stood up and turned the TV off. Reaching over, he scooped up his son and carried him towards the stairs. "I'll be right back."

Emily nodded, fixing her pants. She leaned back and stretched, then stood up and walked to the kitchen where she had left her keys.

"He's out like a light." She jumped slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"It's ok." She picked up her keys. "Ok, I better get going. I'll be back tomorrow at six with breakfast to pick you up. That should give us enough time to drop Jack off."

Hotch nodded. "Ok, thank you so much Emily. Really, I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, I'll see you tomorrow." Slipping her shoes on, she opened the door and shot him one last smile before leaving.

Walking to her car, she tried to push the nervous feeling out of her stomach. Something had changed tonight, she was sure of that. The only important question now was if she should do something about it.

_Ok that's it for Chapter 2! Let me know what you think! Another chapter or so to go, or who knows! It may go on for a bit…Oh, and if you couldn't tell, I like to cook. _


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks for all of the great reviews. One note, this is slightly AU meaning that Beth doesn't exist, as much as I like her character. It's basically assuming what would happen if Paget never left the show. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

Emily tapped her fingernails on her steering wheel as she drove, lost in thought. Her evening with Hotch and Jack had been extremely refreshing, and arguably the best experience she'd had in weeks. And lately she didn't have the energy to cook, especially when it was a meal for one. Turning into her condo, she pulled into the underground parking and turned off her car and just sat there.

Dammit don't go there, she thought. Rubbing her temples, she grabbed her bags and walked towards the elevator. Her heart was pounding as she stepped in, and she knew she was in big trouble. Her thoughts were all over the place, but she was able to center herself on one thing she knew to be true.

She was falling for Aaron Hotchner.

Shaking her head, she stepped out to her floor and walked down the hall to her door. No, she definitely could not do this. Frankly, she was scared. They both had a lot of baggage over the years, and the last thing either of them needed was to get slapped on the wrist for a fraternization violation. Of course there were ways to get around that, but she didn't want to hide. She'd had enough of hiding in the last six months.

Sighing, she walked into her condo and sorted her mail. Ok, so her options were to ignore it, or ignore it. A small voice in her head screamed she was a coward, but she ignored that also. Checking the clock, she made her way to the shower. If she was going to pick up Hotch on time and bring breakfast while not acting like an emotional space case, then she needed to get to bed and try to relax.

Yeah good luck with that, she thought as she stepped into the shower.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM CMCMCMCMCM

Her alarm rang shrilly at five a.m. and she dragged herself out of bed. Her sleep had been restless from a mixture of dreams that she couldn't make sense of. Yawning, she dressed herself quickly in a navy business suit and walked into her kitchen. Opening her fridge, she surveyed the contents and reached for her phone. She sent Hotch a short _You awake?_ text and went to her washroom to wash her face and style her hair. Her phone buzzed shortly with a response from Hotch. _Yes, how long will you be?_

She finished straightening her hair and checked her watch. _Ten minutes or so. Bacon & Eggs ok?_

_Sounds great. Better than Cheerios. Door's unlocked, Jack's still asleep._

She gathered some fresh clothing and repacked her go bag, and grabbed her keys. Stopping in the kitchen she gathered her eggs, a package of bacon, and a few red potatoes and placed them in a recyclable bag. Turning off the lights, she locked her door and made her way to her car.

Standing on the threshold to Hotch's condo, she took a deep breath and reached for the handle. It turned easily and she stepped into the front foyer cradling the groceries she had brought along. She noticed a light on in the kitchen and tiptoed down the hallway, smiling as she saw Hotch sitting at the island sipping coffee. "Long time, no see."

Hotch smiled at her and nodded. "I was going through withdrawal. What did you bring?"

She hoisted the bags onto the counter. "Bacon, eggs, and what will become hash browns. How long do we have?"

Hotch looked at his watch. "About forty five minutes. I'm going to wake him up in ten."

"Ok, microwave cooking it is. Wanna help?" She pointed to the cutting board on the counter.

"Oh, so now you want my help?" Hotch smirked and crossed his arms. "I don't know Emily, after last night I didn't think you trusted me in the kitchen."

"Just get in here," she chided, handing him potato peeler. "Or can you not handle peeling these potatoes Agent Hotchner?"

He huffed dramatically and walked over to her, snatching the peeler out of her hand. "Don't you dare suggest such a thing Agent Prentiss." He pulled the kitchen garbage out from under the sink and started peeling. "I happen to be a potato peeling connoisseur."

She winked at him. "Well this is your chance to impress me. How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled is fine. Jack prefers them like that." She nodded and turned on the oven.

"We should have enough time to do the bacon the good way." She checked her watch as she slid the meat in the oven. "Has JJ called?"

"No, nothing. So no rush yet. And Jack doesn't have to be at school until seven today, so we have plenty of time."

"Have you called about your vehicle yet?" She took the peeled potatoes and started dicing them.

"Not yet, I'll do that after we get to the Bureau," he responded, walking over to her. "What happened to letting me do this?" He grabbed her hand and slipped the knife out of it.

She looked down at their hands and then back at him. "Um, sorry just a habit. Go ahead." She didn't move.

He stared at her for a second more before releasing her hand. "I was wondering if I could ask you a favor Emily."

She nodded, trying to ignore the rising feeling in her stomach. "Sure, within reason."

He set down the knife and led her over to a drawer. Opening it, he pulled out a red notebook and handed it to her. "I want Jack to learn how to cook, and you were great with him yesterday. That's one thing I regret is not being proficient in the kitchen."

Emily smiled and opened the book, reading some of the recipes. "Most of these are pretty easy, he should pick it up in no time." She noticed that the front cover was engraved with a double H. She had little doubt that this was Haley's cookbook.

"Just whenever you have a chance and it doesn't have to be every day."

"It would be my pleasure, honestly. I'm not an expert but I can show him the basics." She smiled at him and handed the book back. "I would love to get to know him more too, if you don't mind."

He shot her a big smile. "Of course not Emily, he loves you. And I have to admit I also enjoy your company."

"You're not too bad yourself, Hotch." She returned his smile.

He slid the red book back into the drawer and walked over to finish dicing the potatoes. "Aaron. Remember what we agreed to last night?"

Emily smirked, nodding. "Are you done with those yet?"

"Yes, just finishing up. Microwave?"

"Yeah, that should speed things up. Do you have a glass pan?" She rooted through the bottom drawers. "Here, use this."

He took the pan from her and slid the potatoes in. "Butter?"

"Yes please." She nodded to the oven clock. "It's getting a little late."

"I'll get Jack up, he won't take long to get ready. He took his bath last night and his bag is already packed." He opened the bread box and handed her a loaf of multigrain bread. "He loves toast, if you don't mind."

"Sure, no problem. I'll handle everything here." She smiled at him and went back to checking on the food.

He stared at her for a moment, then turned and went to wake up his son. The minute he left, Emily let out a breath, steadying herself against the counter. She was not expecting a touchy feely Hotch this morning, and after last night she wasn't sure how long she could hold out. Taking a breath she steadied herself and started cracking eggs into the pan. Get it together Emily, she said to herself, it's just what friends do.

"Emily!" Jack yelled a few minutes later, running towards her and wrapping his arms around her waist. She shook off her feelings and smiled down at the young boy. "You're here!"

"That's right buddy, she came to make us breakfast," Hotch said, gesturing to the kitchen. "What do you say?"

"Thank you!"

Emily smiled and ruffled his hair. "You're welcome sweetie. Are you hungry? Did you sleep good?"

The boy nodded. "I dreamed about you and Daddy. We were having a picnic and there were cats eating our food."

Emily widened her eyes dramatically. "Oh no, did they eat everything?"

"No, Daddy chased them away. And then you and him went for a walk and I played with some fish."

Emily's eyes shot towards Hotch and they made eye contact briefly, but she dropped her attention back down to Jack. "Sounds like quite the dream! Are you all ready to go?"

Jack nodded. "I gotta eat first though Emily. So I can be big and strong like Daddy." He giggled as Hotch tickled his stomach.

"Ok, it'll only be a few more minutes. Have a seat here," she said, hoisting him up into the bar seat. "Eggs are almost done. Ho-I mean Aaron, can you get us some plates?" She opened the microwave and pulled out the hash browns and added more butter before popping them into the oven on broil.

Hotch nodded, grabbing three plates from the cupboard.

"Daddy, what's a Prentiss?"

Emily chuckled, shaking her head. "It's my last name buddy."

Jack looked confused. "But you're Emily, why was Daddy calling you that yesterday?"

"Jack, when Emily and I work, I call her by her last name because that's what's professional," Hotch answered, smiling at Emily. "But we both agreed that I won't call her that anymore when we're here with you."

Emily nodded. "How long were you thinking about that?"

Jack shrugged. "All night, but I got distracted by the yummy food."

Laughing, Emily pulled the hash browns out of the oven. Popping some bread into the toaster, she started to make a plate up for Jack. "We have to be out of here in twenty minutes, so eat up!"

Jack cheered and dug into his food, smiling at Hotch as he ate. Emily passed him a slice of toast and he gave her a big smile. "Toast is my favorite Emily."

She nodded, preparing a plate for Hotch and passing it to him. "Your daddy told me. More coffee?" She held the pot out to him.

Hotch passed his cup to her. "Please. Sit down though Emily, everything's perfect."

"Ok, just one sec-"

Reaching across the counter, Hotch grabbed Emily's hand. "No, leave it. Come sit."

She nodded. Regretfully, she slid her hand out of his grip to pick up her plate and walked over to the other side to take the seat next to him. If this was going to be a regular occurrence, she needed to get a blood pressure monitor.

They sat in silence, listening to Jack hum while he ate. Hotch was the first one to break the silence. He bumped Emily's arm with his elbow. "Time to go?"

She nodded and went to reach for his plate but Hotch stopped her and took hers instead. "Thanks."

"No problem. Ready buddy?" Jack nodded to his father and scrambled off the seat to get his back pack.

Hotch loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and wiped the stove quickly. "Ok, let's head out or else Emily and I will have some explaining to do."

Emily rolled her eyes. "I don't need Morgan bugging me all day, that's for sure."

Hotch smirked at her. He washed his hands and dried them with a tea towel. "Ok, last person to the car is a rotten egg!" He pretended to run after Jack, as the little boy squealed and ran out the door. "Wait at the car, buddy!"

Emily laughed and grabbed her keys. "You two are so cute."

Hotch winked at her. "We try our best. Ready?"

Emily nodded and stepped out the door, waiting on the stairs for him to lock up. She turned and waved at Jack who was pacing in front of the passenger door eagerly.

"Oh Emily, by the way thanks again. Breakfast was great."

"No problem, it's the most important meal of the day after all," she said, smiling at him. "We better get going. Don't want to keep Mr. Antsy Pants waiting."

He smiled and followed her to the car.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I feel like this story is going to have a much longer life than I anticipated…But hurray for two chapters back to back!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

After dropping Jack off at school, Emily headed to the Bureau with Hotch joining her in the front seat staring out the window quietly.

"Any plans for the weekend?"

He shook his head. "Nothing yet, we'll see how everything plays out. If nothing comes in, I was thinking about taking Jack to D.C. for the day. He's been asking to go see the ISM since he heard about it in class."

"ISM?"

"International Spy Museum. Have you been before?" He frowned when she shook her head. "Oh, it's a pretty interesting place. Maybe if you're free you could join us."

She nodded, not taking her eyes off the road. "I won't make any plans. As long as you don't mind."

"I invited you Emily, of course I don't mind. And Jack would love it." She returned his small smile briefly.

"Great. Fingers crossed I guess." She tilted her head back and forth, rubbing her shoulder."

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just slept weird probably." She froze when she felt Hotch's hand on her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Just relax, let me feel it." He started kneading the knot that had formed in her shoulder, slightly pushing on it with his thumbs. "It's not too bad, maybe have JJ work it a little more when you get in." He dropped his hand.

Emily nodded. "Thanks, I will." She gestured at her empty coffee mug. "Mind if we stop quickly? I'm not a huge fan of the coffee in the office."

"Of course, you're the one doing me a favor." Hotch reached into his bag and pulled out his mug. "Can you keep a secret?"

"My lips are sealed."

"I occasionally enjoy a skim vanilla latte." He glared at her playfully as she bit her lip trying not to smile. "I blame Dave, he converted me."

Emily gave up trying to hide her smile and laughed openly. "I can see that. There's no shame in it Aaron, you're allowed to have a guilty pleasure." God, she loved saying his first name.

"What's yours?"

"Guilty pleasure? Or coffee of choice?" She smiled at him while she waited for a red light to turn green. He just shrugged. "I am a fan of soy chai lattes. Calms me down, and I need to cut back on my caffeine intake big time."

"I never was too big on soy," he replied. "Sean used to love that stuff."

She nodded, turning into a Starbucks on her left. She headed to the drive thru and placed the order, adding two slices of banana loaf. Hotch raised his eyebrow at her and she shrugged. "I'll need a snack later, and so will you. You never eat enough as it is."

Pulling up to the window, she went to dig through her purse and suddenly there was a fifty dollar bill shoved in front of her towards the teller. "No Aaron, I got it."

He waved her hand away. "Please Emily, it's my treat. Consider it pay back for breakfast."

"But I'm the one that stopped for it."

"You can get it next time if you're so worried about it." He took the coffee she handed him and stared at the two banana loafs. They were in one bag, and he didn't have a container to separate them.

"Just hang onto them for now. I have a spare Tupperware at my desk." Emily handed him the change and pulled out of the drive thru. "Just don't let Reid see, he's obsessed with banana bread."

He chuckled as he sipped his drink. "I'll be sure to remember that."

Moments later, Emily pulled into the Bureau parking lot. She parked next to Hotch's vehicle. "Well, I guess the Tire Fairy didn't stop by last night. I'll have to get a refund for that dollar I left under my pillow." She put the vehicle in park and hopped out of the front seat, grabbing her coffee and bag.

"Yeah, I'll meet you in there. Just need to make that call," he said, holding his coffee and the banana bread out to her. "Do you mind putting this on my desk? I'll be in soon."

She nodded and shot him a smile, putting the banana bread in her bag and taking his coffee. "Sure, take your time. See you soon."

Emily turned and started to walk towards the entrance, but was stopped by his hand on her shoulder. She turned back and tilted her head questioningly.

"Emily, thank you. I mean it."

She shot him a smile. "No worries Hotch. It was my pleasure, really."

He nodded and released her. "See you in there Prentiss."

And with that, the formalities of their job slipped back into place.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM CMCMCMCMCM

Emily walked out of the elevator and through the glass doors to her desk. Thankfully someone had propped one open so she didn't have to juggle the coffees

"Well looky here, what's with the big smile?" She turned to see Derek Morgan with his arms behind his head, leaning back in his chair. "Are you that excited to bring me coffee?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh get over yourself. Is JJ here?"

"Yeah she got in a few minutes ago. She's in her office." Morgan gestured to the coffees. "I should have known it was for her. You're hurting me here Princess."

Emily reached into her desk to pull out a spare Tupperware and slipped one slice of the banana bread loaves into it. "If you don't tell Spencer, then I'll give you half of this."

"Ooh, she breaks!"

She handed him half of the loaf and nodded at it. "Remember, our secret." Making her way up the stairs with Hotch's coffee and the other banana loaf, she paused at his office and decided to keep moving as she noticed Morgan's eyes still on here. Knocking on JJ's door, she walked in when she heard a quiet "Come in".

"Hey, how was your evening?" Emily shot her blonde friend a smile and settled into one of the visitor seats. "Was Henry ecstatic to see you?"

JJ gave her a big smile. "Yes, he was very excited. We took him to the movies, he loved it." She nodded to the coffee in Emily's hands. "What's up?"

Emily shrugged. "Derek was watching me and I didn't want to fuel the rumor mill."

"Why would you bringing me a coffee fuel the rumor mill." JJ narrowed her eyes as she watched the brunette chew on her lip. "Unless it's not for me."

"It's not."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "So who is it for?"

"It's for me." Both of the women jumped slightly, turning to see Hotch standing at the door. "Did you get lost Prentiss?"

"No, just wanted to stop in quickly to ask JJ for that favor you mentioned in the car. Here." She handed him his coffee and banana bread. "I'll get out of your hair, see you later Jayje." Emily ignored JJ's look of intrigue and slipped past Hotch, shooting him a small smile.

Walking to her desk, she sighed with relief as she noticed Morgan staring at his computer. The last thing she needed was an interrogation from him, but she knew that one was now guaranteed to come from her blonde friend.

"Morning everyone." Emily looked up and smiled at Reid as he walked over to his desk and placed his book bag neatly on top.

"What's up Pretty Boy? You have a good night?" Morgan turned around and stood up, stretching. "Man I can't take these chairs anymore. Brutal."

"It was ok. Stayed in and re-read the Shakespeare Anthology my mother sent me last week." The genius sat down and checked his watch. "Is Hotch in?"

Emily nodded. "He's in with JJ. Nothing yet." She shuffled through paperwork on her desk, sorting it by priority. She sighed as she started working on a report.

After an hour, she stood up and stretched, making her way to the washrooms. She failed to notice the footsteps following her there, and swung around when the door slammed shut behind her. "You scared me half to death JJ!"

"Spill now." The blonde demanded, searching the washroom for other women. Satisfied that it was empty, she shot Emily a sly grin. "You. Hotch."

Emily shrugged, going to the sink to wash her hands. "I gave him a ride. Nothing happened."

"Are you happy about that?"

"About what? He needed a ride yesterday because of some tire issues, and I wasn't about to abandon him." Emily dried her hands with paper towel. "By the way, can you rub my shoulder? I slept on it funny."

JJ nodded, rubbing her friend's back. "So nothing happened?"

Emily nodded, shooting down the nervous feeling in her stomach. It wasn't a complete lie. Sure he had touched her more times in the last twenty four hours than in the last six years, but it wasn't like he had professed his undying love for her. "Nothing important. Just a friend helping a friend."

"Ok, I'll believe you for now." The blonde stopped rubbing Emily's shoulder. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you." Emily moved to walk through the door but was stopped by JJ. "What?"

"Just so you know he seems happier than he's been in the last couple years Em." JJ winked at her friend. "So whatever you did, keep it up. No one would complain."

Emily smiled at her, and held the door open. "I'll keep that in mind." Checking her watch she followed her friend back to the bull pen. "Any cases coming through?"

JJ nodded. "Conference room in ten. Something local just came in. It'll just be a consult for now."

Emily scooped her phone and tablet up and followed her friend to the conference room. Hotch was sitting at the table, looking through a case folder and glanced up as the two women entered the room.

Emily shot him a small smile and took the seat next to him, ignoring JJ's smirk. She had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

_Case coming next! A little change in pace…leave me a review so I know what you think!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Hope you're all enjoying so far! Thank you for all the reviews and kind words! All mistakes are my own._

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1_.

"Meet Peter Milton, twenty six years old." JJ flipped to a picture showing a red-headed man with a blank expression on his face. "He murdered six women three years ago, all dumped in the D.C. area. All six women were between the ages of sixteen and twenty and were brunettes." Flipping to the next series of photos, JJ stopped on the last woman. "Charlotte Bandsmith was the seventh victim, and managed to escape barely. She identified Milton to the authorities and he was arrested that same hour."

"Milton is being held at a correctional facility just outside of D.C. in the psychiatric ward," Hotch continued. "Since he was arrested, he's refused to speak. He's seen many doctors through the years, but none have been able to get a response from him."

"If he's gone that long without speaking then he must be exceptionally good at controlling his emotional responses," Reid noted.

JJ nodded. "Thankfully, the implementation of mandatory art classes for all inmates was a major stepping stone for psychiatric analysis. Apparently Milton has quite the artistic flair."

"The facility has every drawing Milton has done during his incarceration," Hotch said, motioning for JJ to move to the next slide. "Each one is meticulously done. It's highly likely that he's changed his method of communication without even acknowledging it."

"How many of these are we talking here?" Emily asked. "Once a week for three years?"

JJ shook her head. "Once a day for three years. That's-"

"One thousand and ninety five," Reid chimed in. "Assuming they continued through holidays."

"Each drawing needs to be analyzed individually and then considered with the rest of the group," Hotch added. "Reid, I think it goes without saying that you'll be in attendance. Three of us should be plenty."

Emily raised her hand. "I have nothing on the go, just some paperwork that's almost finished. Nothing that can't wait."

Hotch nodded. "Morgan, stand by in case we get swamped. Dave, you mind holding down the fort?"

"You got it. Keep me updated."

"JJ, call ahead and let them know we'll be there in an hour or so." The blonde nodded and rose, dialing the prison number in her cell phone. "We'll have Garcia on stand-by for now. Wheels up in five."

Emily walked to her desk and gathered her things, waiting for Reid to pack his bag full of notebooks. While his back was turned, she slipped the container with her banana bread into her bag. It never hurt to be prepared and she had no idea how long they would be gone.

Hotch walked up next to her and rested his bag on her desk. "Ready?" She nodded and turned to Reid who was zipping up his bag. "OK, let's head to the parking garage."

The three walked out of the office, heading to the basement parking level. A black SUV was waiting for them and Hotch signed the paper handed to him by the parking attendant. He slid into the driver seat and started the engine, waiting patiently for Emily and Reid to buckle up. He pulled the vehicle out of the garage and headed towards the interstate.

Emily fidgeted with her hands in the passenger seat. The drive was relatively silent, which was a rarity with Reid. She turned her head back and noted that the young doctor was flipping through the case file quietly but rapidly. "Notice anything off the bat?"

"There are only a few photos in here so I will need to take a look at more to confirm, but it looks like some kind of hidden message within the drawings is a possibility. I just need to manipulate the image to be sure."

"When we get to the ward, we can scan the images to Garcia," Hotch said. "That way she'll be able to help with whatever we need. I know she's been experimenting with some new training courses."

Emily nodded and looked out the window, watching the scenery pass by her. It wasn't too long before she could see the gates for the correctional facility in the distance. She turned to sneak a look at Hotch, taking in his set jaw and serious look. When he flicked his eyes over to her she averted her gaze, blushing slightly at the embarrassment of being caught staring. God, it was like she was in high school again some days.

"Is there something wrong?" She looked up and took note of his raised eyebrow, shaking her head.

"Just thinking about the case." Emily reached into her side pocket and pulled out her badge as Hotch pulled onto a dirt road leading to the facility. "Here, they'll probably ask for our credentials." She reached behind her and held her hand open for Reid's badge.

Hotch pulled up to the main gates and rolled the window down when a senior officer came to the vehicle. "FBI, we're here to see Dr. Mallory Winslow." He handed the credentials to the man and waited for him to check them.

"Ok, I just have to call it in and you can be on your way." The officer made his way to the security booth and after a few moments he motioned the agents through the gate as he pressed a button. There was a short beeping noise and the gates swung open. Hotch proceeded into the facility and parked next to the officer vehicles.

Emily and Reid gathered their things swiftly and followed Hotch to the entrance. A middle-aged woman with short blonde hair was standing at the check in desk.

"Dr. Winslow, you spoke with my colleague Agent Jareau on the phone," Hotch said, reaching forward to shake the doctor's hand.

"Yes, Agent Hotchner I presume?"

Hotch nodded. "This is SSA Emily Prentiss and Dr. Spencer Reid. They'll also be assisting on this consult."

Dr. Winslow shook Emily's hand and nodded back at Reid. "Thank you for coming. I'll show you to the work space."

The agents followed her into a small room with two cardboard boxes on a round table and a vending machine in the corner. "I hope this will suffice. It's the best we can do at the moment. I've placed two copies of every drawing in each of these boxes."

"Do you have a multi-function printer?" Reid asked, opening the boxes. "We need to send copies to our technical analyst back at Quantico."

"Yes, there's one back at the front desk. They just installed a new wireless modem so there shouldn't be any problems." Dr. Winslow smiled at the agents. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my office and attend to some patients. If you have any other concerns just page me."

"Of course. After we've taken a look at everything I'd like to go through Milton's psychological evaluation with you," Hotch said, gesturing to the table. "Anything you have will be essential to our profile, even if it's the slightest change in facial expression."

"Of course. If I don't hear from you, I'll stop by after I'm finished." Dr. Winslow nodded and left the agents alone.

"Reid and I will start those scans to Garcia," Emily said, picking up the unopened box. The young genius nodded and stood from the table. "Do you need anything?"

Hotch shook his head. "I'm fine. I'll start organizing each drawing by month so we can note any obvious changes from when Milton was first imprisoned compared to the present."

"Sure, we should be done in a few minutes." Emily walked out of the room with Reid, who was dialing Garcia's number.

"Goddess of all things digital speaking, how can I be of assistance?"

"Garcia, Emily and I are sending you the drawings of Peter Milton. They need to be on hand digitally in case we need to take a closer look at the organization of images," Reid said.

"Ah, so it's my mad photo shop skills you're after," Garcia joked. "How long until you send them?"

"We're just on our way to the printers now," Emily answered. "Shouldn't be more than five minutes."

"Your wish is my command sweetums. I'll be keeping a watchful eye so don't leave me hanging."

"I would never even think of it." Emily smiled at the secretaries as she walked up to the desk. "Everything is on the way, hang tight."

Reid ended the call and turned his attention to the printers behind the front desk. "We need to use the scanner. It shouldn't be more than a second."

One of the women nodded and stood up. "Sure, just come right around. I'll setup the computer for you."

"Thanks Wendy," Emily said, noting the woman's name tag. "Reid, start loading. I'll hook up the secure connection to the Bureau." She opened her bag and pulled out a router, which she plugged into the USB port of the computer. Logging in, she opened Garcia's email and hit the green sync button. "Ok, go ahead."

Reid pushed a few buttons on the printer and the first stack of photos started going through. Emily watched the computer carefully to make sure the data was continuously being sent. After ten minutes, all of the documents were successfully sent and Emily signed out and disconnected the router. "Thanks ladies, we appreciate it."

"No problem. Let us know if you need anything else." Emily shot the women a smile and followed Reid back to the workroom. It was time to get to work.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: First of all, thank you for all of your kind words. I had an idea the other day about where this is going, so I will be dragging you all along for another couple chapters at the very least. This one is a little tease before I get into the big part of the case file. I hope you guys will like it and think it's a little original. Have fun reading! As always, all mistakes are mine._

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

_Bang. Bang. Bang._

"Reid, please." Emily shot the genius a frown as she watched him from her position at the table. He was sitting in the corner, papers everywhere and legs spread wide, kicking the table leg.

"Sorry, I'm getting restless I guess." Reid carefully stood up from his pile of papers and stretched. "We've been here for how long?"

"Just under six hours." Hotch looked up from his notes and checked his watch. She was right, it had been quite a while.

"Ok, why don't we take a quick break. I need to check in with Dave and we should give our eyes a short rest." He stood up from the table and gestured to the door. "I'll be around the corner, Prentiss can you check in with Garcia to see if she has anything?"

Emily nodded in approval. "Sure, and I'll try to find us something to eat."

Hotch shot her a small smile and looked at Reid. "Take a walk and see if you can find Dr. Winslow. She should hopefully be done with her appointments by now."

"Sure, I'll see if I can find her. Meet back in fifteen?"

"That should be fine." Hotch pulled out his cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Rossi, walking out and leaving the two agents alone.

"You good?" Emily asked, pulling out her phone. "If you want to wait I can come with you to see Winslow."

Reid shook his head. "I should be fine. I'll see if they can patch me through to her office from the front."

Emily nodded and dialed Garcia. "I'll grab us some snacks. Any preferences?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you can find is fine with me. Nothing too heavy."

She heard Garcia answer in her typical cheer and turned her attention to the phone as Reid left the room. "Hey, any news?"

"Nothing as far as the photos go but I did have some luck in tracking down our lucky number seven victim Charlotte. She lives about twenty miles away."

Emily frowned. "She didn't move?"

"No, she continued to live in the same house before she was taken. And she's remained relatively off the grid. Limited credit card transactions, no traffic tickets and no vacations in the last three years. Still works at the same hospital as a nurse."

"Ok, so she's an introvert. Not very surprising considering what happened." Emily jotted down the information on her notepad. "Any men in her life?"

"Not from the looks of it, her tax file has her listed as single. There aren't any particular commonly called numbers in her phone records."

"Ok. In the file it mentioned that she testified in court, do you have the transcript?" Emily flipped through the case file. "I don't see it in my copy."

"Just give me a second. Ok, bingo it's sent to your tablet." Emily flipped open her tablet and scrolled to the new email. She read it quickly and frowned.

"It's only a page?" Usually the prosecutor would ask more questions, so there had to have been a compromise to the testimony.

"Yes, that's all there was sweetums. Anything else you need?"

"Stand by for now, but I have a feeling we'll need to go and talk to her. I'll call back in a few hours if we come to another stand still." Emily threaded her fingers through her hair and checked her watch. It had already been ten minutes, and she was starving. "Talk to you soon, thanks."

"You got it!" Garcia chirped, the line going dead. Emily stood up and walked out of the room into the hallway. Reid was nowhere to be seen, but she saw Hotch hanging up his phone call with Rossi and walked over to him.

"Any news?" Hotch asked, rubbing a hand across his chin.

"Garcia sent me the seventh victim's testimonial. It's only a page, so I'm thinking the prosecutor at the time likely cut a deal with her just in order to make sure she was on the stand at all," Emily explained. She hesitated for a moment, chewing her lip. "I think we might want to consider going to see her. Something doesn't sit right with me about it."

"Let's see how things play out here first with the drawings," Hotch said. "If we can't find anything in the next few hours, we can consider going to see her."

Emily nodded. "Sure, that's what I was thinking." She had to admit that some days it was hard not to get a little frustrated.

"We'll reorganize, take a new look at everything. Dr. Winslow may be a big help at this point." Hotch looked down the hall and noted a large kitchen area with more vending machines. "Come on, I'm hungry."

Emily nodded and followed him down the hall. She smiled when she saw that one of the vending machines held sandwiches. "Oh god, I would kill for a good turkey club right now."

Hotch smirked at her and pulled out his wallet. He fed a twenty dollar bill into the machine and selected a sandwich, watching as it fell. "What do you think Reid will want?"

"He usually likes ham and cheese." Emily moved to the machine next to him and examined the panel showing the selection of drinks. "You want a soft drink or coffee? I think I need a little break from the jet fuel they're serving here."

"I'll take a diet coke, thanks." Emily nodded and punched in his drink, and got a gatorade for herself and a regular coke for Reid. The last time she had gotten the young genius a diet drink, he had unloaded facts about the negative aspects of aspartame to her and she didn't feel like sitting through the same lecture twice. She smirked, knowing he wouldn't do the same to Hotch.

"I still have that banana bread you know," she said, shooting him a small smile as she juggled the three drinks in her hand. "It should still be good. I'll even share some with Reid."

"How generous of you," he joked, grabbing the last sandwich out of the vending machine. His phone started ringing and he set the sandwiches on the table to answer it. "Hotchner."

Emily watched as a frown grew on his face and became concerned as his voice became irritated. When he hung up, she shot him a raised eyebrow questioningly.

He shrugged, shoving his phone into his pocket. "That was about my vehicle. Apparently they had to tow it back to the dealership and order new tires. It'll be out for at least a week, maybe two."

"Oh, that's unfortunate," she said, shooting him a comforting smile. "If you need any help, I don't mind being your chauffeur to work."

Hotch shook his head. "No Prentiss, that's fine. I don't want to inconvenience you and I can just get a rental through my insurance."

"It's really no problem. You're on my way, and we both know your insurance will go up if you claim it for something that small." She shuffled the drinks in her hand. "Really, I don't mind."

"Well thank you, I'll think about it." Hotch returned her smile and picked up the sandwiches. "I know Jack would enjoy it, when you dropped him off this morning he couldn't stop smiling even when I left him at his classroom."

Emily nodded. "The feeling is mutual. He's a great kid, I enjoyed last night." She turned and started walking back towards their work room. Hotch followed her silently and mentally reinstated the formality of their working situation, nodding at Reid when they entered the room.

"Anything?" The doctor shook his head.

"No, I went to her office and she was still in meetings. She said that if she's not done in a few hours, that we should try and meet tomorrow morning." Reid held up a few papers. "She did give me her notes on her sessions with Milton. There isn't much but it'll help."

"Ok, let's try to get re-organized." Hotch handed Reid his sandwich. "Eat some of this while you work, we need to keep our energy up."

Emily handed out the drinks and thanked Hotch as he passed her sandwich over. Chewing slowly, she sorted through the pile of drawings she had been working on. She squinted at them, her eyes tracing over every detail. If there was little from Milton's sessions, the key had to be in these drawings. Standing up, she walked towards one side of the room and started to lay out the drawings in order by date. Staring at them, she had a thought. "Reid, bring me that chair will you?"

Reid passed her the metal chair with a questioning look. "Did you find something?"

Emily continued to stare at the drawings, setting her sandwich on the table to focus. "I don't know. Give me a second." She scanned her eyes over them again and then tested the stability of the chair. "I think there's something."

Hotch was immediately at her side. "What are you thinking?"

She slipped her shoes off and looked at him. "I need you for a second. Stand still." Slipping her hand on his shoulder, she boosted herself onto the chair. Steadying herself, she looked down. A small smile grew on her lips and she looked down to him. "I think I have it."

"What is it?"

"I think there's a key to each of these." She hopped off the chair and pulled out her cell phone. "Here, take a look." She moved aside so that Hotch could take her place on the chair. "Garcia should be able to confirm."

Hotch climbed onto the chair, trying not to wobble. He looked down at the drawings and instantly saw what Emily was talking about. He gestured for Reid to come over and let him see what they looking at.

Emily dialed the technical analyst, eagerly awaiting an answer. "Garcia, I think we have something."

"I'm here, fire away!"

"Run the pictures through your system from the first year Milton was incarcerated, but remove the colors and only focus on the lines."

"Ok, give me a moment." Emily paced as she waited, putting the speaker phone on so everyone could hear. She saw Reid gasp as he noticed what she had observed moments ago. She could hear the key strokes on the other line as the technical analyst did her work. "Ok, I have isolated only the lines. What's next?"

"Zoom out and see if any of the lines are thicker than the rest." Emily shot Hotch a look, and he nodded to her in confirmation. She was slightly thrilled at the prospect of a lead. "Anything?"

"It'll take me a little while to go through them all, but I can see what you're talking about in the first picture." Emily picked up the first drawing and held it in front of her at a distance.

"First line in?"

"Affirmative, my schematic analysis is telling me it's approximately three times thicker than the other lines."

Hotch cleared his throat. "Garcia, keep running all of the drawings in the first year and try to isolate the thicker lines." It might be a long shot, but it was better than nothing.

"In Dr. Winslow's notes, she mentions that Milton was very proficient at puzzles," Reid stated, flipping through the papers. "She would watch him for their entire session most days and he would solve every single one every time."

Emily nodded. "If he had a knack for puzzles, this could be one big game to him." It was a like a giant riddle had been asked to them, but they were still miles from the answer. One thousand and ninety six miles to be exact. "Garcia, let me know when you have all the lines isolated."

"You got it sugar plum, I'm hot on the case. Be back in a flash!"

Emily hung up and turned to her colleagues. "I have a good feeling about this."

"There's definitely a pattern," Reid answered in agreement, shuffling through his drawings. "I can see them much more clearly now, but there's always only one that's thicker than the rest."

"Good work Prentiss," Hotch said, walking over to the table to help Reid. "Ok, let's just focus on year one. If we can find out what he's trying to hide, it'll give us a big lead for the rest of the three years."

Emily nodded. "I'll re-organize year two. Hopefully before I'm finished Garcia will have something."

"Good, I'll do the same with year three. Reid, do as much as you can."

The doctor nodded briefly and continued flipping through his drawings at a rapid pace.

All three slipped into a silence as they worked, each exhilarated that their hard work was finally leading them to the bigger picture.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thanks for all of the feedback. I'm trying to be as clear as possible when describing the drawings. I have a good image in my head and I hope I can communicate to you guys what I mean. Shoot me a review if you have the time!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

Emily yawned widely as she stretched her arms, looking over to see how her colleagues were fairing. Reid was slowly sipping from a cup of coffee that had likely gone cold hours ago, and Hotch was taking notes. She slid her chair out and stood up to survey their progress.

"I need to take five, I'll be right back." Hotch looked up and nodded at her, checking his watch. "You guys need anything?"

"Maybe a refill if you don't mind. I want to go through these quickly to make sure I didn't miss anything." Reid gestured to the stacks of papers in front of him. Emily shot him a small smile and took his cup of cold coffee from him.

"Sure, I'll get you one too," Emily said, looking at Hotch. "Be back in a flash."

Slipping out of the room, Emily made her way to the women's washroom. She took her time and splashed some cold water on her face. The mascara she was wearing earlier had long since rubbed off, and she wiped her eyes to get rid of some small smudges. Threading a hand through her dark hair, she let out a long sigh. It had been three hours since they had last talked to Garcia so she had a feeling that things were going to be a lot more complicated than she wanted. But then again, that was commonly the case these days.

Walking out of the washroom, she made her way to the common room and poured three cups of coffee and placed them in a cup tray. She noticed a box of donuts on the table with an open top so assuming it was fair game she selected three honey glazed donuts and stacked them on top of each other. Juggling the refreshments, she walked back to the work room and kicked her foot against the door to alert Hotch to open it.

Emily wasn't kept waiting long. "Here, let me take that." Hotch took the donuts from her and smiled at her. "I'm glad to see you've been practicing your balancing exercises."

"Of course, don't want to go rusty sir." She set the coffees down next to Reid, who thanked her graciously and took a cup for himself. "Do you want to take a few minutes? It's getting late."

Hotch shook his head. "Jessica called while you were gone so I could say goodnight to Jack." He hesitated slightly before continuing, his eyes flashing to Reid briefly before meeting hers. "He asked about you. I told him about the museum."

Emily smiled. "Well I'm glad. We can talk about it when we're done here and work something out."

Nodding, Hotch went back to the table. "Ok, where are we?"

"I've started double checking all of your lines, and then I will be finished." Reid barely looked up, continuing to shuffle papers in front of his eyes. "I've written down the correct orders, so Garcia should be able to confirm."

"Speak of the devil," Emily said, chuckling as her caller display started to light up. She hit the speaker phone so that everyone could hear. "Go ahead Garcia, you're on speaker."

"Hello my lovelies, sorry to keep you waiting but this program has been an absolute nightmare!"

"No problem, tell us what you have." Hotch flipped a page over in his notebook in preparation.

"Ok so you were correct that there was one line in each drawing that was thicker than the rest," Garcia answered, clicking away at her computer keyboard. "There seemed to be no special order in comparison to each year."

"So he must have been doing this at random." Emily flipped through her notes. "Have you isolated all the lines?"

"Yes, they're all organized by date."

"Keep them in order but arrange them all on one sheet," Reid said, standing up. "He can't be doing this at random, it has to be organized."

"Ok, I am doing that as we speak and sending the images to your tablets as fast as my nimble fingers can fly." The call ended and Emily took her phone from the table, slipping it back in her pocket.

Sitting quietly, the three agents waited patiently for Garcia's information. Reid finished double checking the final drawings and leaned back closing his eyes. Emily knew he was trying to paint a picture in his mind of all the information he had gone through.

Finally after a few minutes, their tablets beeped at the sound of a new email. Emily eagerly opened the email and gasped as she flipped through the photos. She looked up and met Hotch's eyes and read the surprise in them.

"We're paying Dr. Winslow a visit immediately." Hotch stood up and turned for the door, not bothering to check if Reid and Emily were following him.

Reid grabbed their papers and followed Emily out the door, striving to keep up with Hotch. The walk to the psychiatrist's office was a short one, and Hotch knocked loudly.

"Come in." He opened the door immediately, frowning as he noticed the empty office where Mallory Winslow was sitting. "Oh, it's you. I was just about to come and check up on you, I've just finished my appointments."

"You need to see this." Hotch shoved his tablet in front of her.

"Just a moment." Dr. Winslow slipped her reading glasses on and looked down at the screen. "I'm sorry, where did you get this?"

"A few hours ago Agent Prentiss had a break through." Hotch pointed to the lines on the picture. "She noticed that each drawing contained one line that was thicker than the rest."

"An accent line, you could call it," Reid added. "It's a common thing in most contemporary art, usually done to outline something of importance that the artist is trying to highlight to the audience."

"Our technical analyst isolated all the lines in each drawing and was able to come up with this." Emily zoomed out and the image became three.

At a loss for words, the psychiatrist merely stared at the images. After a moment she looked up at the three. "Do you have any theories?"

Hotch shook his head. "Not yet, but we have a couple of options. We need to bring in and try to question Milton. If he doesn't give us anything, we'll have to re-examine the case evidence and try and talk to Charlotte Bandsmith."

"Ok, I won't be able to get Milton out until tomorrow. We go into mandatory lockdown during lights out." Dr. Winslow pointed to the clock. "It ends at seven a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Alright, that will be fine. We'll meet you back here at eight."

"That'll work perfectly. I have nothing until ten." Hotch nodded and took the tablet from the desk.

Emily and Reid nodded curtly to the doctor and followed Hotch out of the office and back to the work room. "Ok, we'll take these with us tonight. Keep the years separated if you can."

The two other agents nodded and set to cleaning up the stacks of paper. The task didn't take long, and they were sorted and organized into the respective boxes in just under half an hour.

"I could go for some real food," Emily said, rubbing her back slightly as she organized her belongings and cleaned up the trash.

"I second that." Reid made a face and Emily chuckled.

"Well maybe we can coerce Hotch into stopping at Richie's on the way back," Emily suggested, smirking at the dark haired man to her left. "What do you think?"

Hotch raised an eyebrow at her. "Richie's?"

"Yeah, we passed it on the way here. They claim to have the best burgers in the D.C. area." Emily swung her bag over her shoulder and picked up her box. "Ready?"

Hotch nodded and grabbed his box. "Let's hope they're still open at this hour."

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The drive was relatively silent. Hotch allowed Emily to turn the radio to a soft jazz station, and he noticed her head lulling against the passenger window. "Hey, where do I turn off?"

Emily's eyes flew open. "Oh, it's just past the McDonald's on the freeway exit."

Hotch nodded. "We should be there in a few minutes." He rolled his window down, letting the fresh air into the vehicle.

"God, what a day." Emily rubbed her hands, trying to massage the cramps out of them. "I swear I have a claw hand right now and it might be permanent."

"I think after this long at the bureau I don't have any feeling left in my right one," Hotch admitted. "At least it's better than arthritis?"

Emily chuckled at his comment. "Yeah I suppose so. God, when did we get so old?"

"Don't even start with me." Hotch took the next exit. Five minutes later he pulled into the restaurant. "Ok, five minutes?"

Emily and Reid nodded and got out of the vehicle. The three of them walked into Richie's and Emily smiled as she noticed that the place was empty.

"Hi, welcome." A small middle-aged woman smiled at them from the counter. "Take your time, we don't close for another hour."

The three agents nodded and browsed the menu board. There were a wide variety of options, and Emily was the first to step forward and place her order. When she went to pay, she felt a hand on her arm and turned around.

"I got it," Hotch insisted, motioning for Reid to come forward to order.

Emily frowned and shook her head. "No that's ok, you got the sandwiches."

"Prentiss, please. I still owe you for last night." Hotch looked at Reid, who was oblivious to their conversation thankfully. Hotch didn't want to think how that sounded to strangers, let alone their friend.

"That'll be twenty two fifty, honey."

"Add a double cheeseburger and a strawberry milkshake, please." Hotch pulled out some cash from his wallet, ignoring Emily's pout. He smiled at the lady and gave her a few dollars for a tip.

"Thank you sir! That'll be a couple of minutes."

"Thanks," Reid said in appreciation. "I'll grab us some napkins and straws."

"Yeah, thank you," Emily added, shooting Hotch a small smile. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." He returned her smile and leaned against the counter, waiting for their food. "Go grab a table. We might as well just eat here. I don't want mustard going all over my shirt."

Emily nodded and walked over to where Reid was gathering condiments. She picked up a tray and moved everything onto it before finding them a table.

As promised, their food was ready in a few minutes and Hotch and Reid carried everything over to join Emily. Reid slid into the seat opposite Emily, and Hotch pulled a chair over to the end of the table.

"What, are you afraid of our cooties?" Emily smirked as Hotch shot her a look.

"Of course not." He unwrapped his burger and took a bite, chewing slowly. "This is delicious."

"Very good, nice suggestion Emily," Reid mumbled through a half full mouth of food.

The brunette smiled at the two men. "We'll have to keep it in mind for next time."

They ate in a content silence. Hotch had his eyes focused on a basketball game on one of the TV screens, and they flickered away when Emily cleared her throat. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Yeah I think we're good. Thanks again, that was great."

Hotch pushed his chair back from the table and brushed the crumbs off of his pants as he stood up and took their trash to the garbage bins. "I just need to hit the restroom and we're good." He tossed the keys to Emily. "You can drive if you want."

Emily laughed as Reid choked on his drink. "Thanks, see you out there."

She watched as he walked away and turned to the genius next to her. "You good?"

"He never lets me drive," Reid whined, following her out of the restaurant.

"Well maybe he's in a good mood for a change." Emily unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat. "Or he could just be tired. It's been a long day."

Reid nodded, climbing into the backseat. "The mind loses its ability to focus after thirty minutes of concentration. We were there for eleven hours."

Emily groaned as she adjusted her mirrors. "Finally a bit of a break through though. Thank god." She smiled as Hotch joined them in the car. "Alright, let's get home. I have a giant tub calling my name and I'm looking forward to submitting to it!" She pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards Quantico.

Soon, Emily found herself humming along to the jazz music that was floating through the car.

"You have a nice voice." She jumped at the sound of Hotch's voice. "Sorry."

"It's fine, I was just in the groove." Emily shot him a smile quickly and turned her attention back to the road. "Thanks, I suppose."

"Haley used to sing in the car when we would go on road trips." Hotch hesitated before continuing. "She said it helped her calm down and distract her from getting car sick."

Emily nodded sympathetically. "My mother used to have the same problem. I guess that's where I picked the habit up from. A lot of road trips when I was younger, especially if we had an event to attend with the governor of wherever we were living. Father insisted we drive instead of fly."

"Do you talk to them much?" Hotch asked, searching her face for any signs to halt his questions. She was showing none.

"Every now and then. Mother will call to check up on me, but more often than not I'll just get a voicemail from Father. Just something to say he's thinking about me and to call back when I have time." Emily smirked, shooting Hotch a wink. "When I eventually call him back, he tells me that my slave driver boss needs to give me more time off."

"Tell him your slave driver boss knows that." Hotch turned to check on Reid, who was passed out in the back seat. "Good job today by the way. That was a major breakthrough."

Emily waved her right hand at him. "One of us would have seen it sooner or later. I just had a moment of clarity."

"Well regardless of what happened, it's something." He turned and shook Reid's knee gently. "Spencer, we're getting close."

The younger man yawned. "How long was I out?"

"Only twenty minutes." Emily drove past the Bureau parking gates and followed the signs down to the parking garage. She pulled into an empty spot and put the car in park. "Thanks for letting me drive."

Hotch nodded. "Let's just put the boxes back in my office and we can get out of here."

The three of them got out of the vehicle and Emily put the keys into the check in basket and signed their names. The elevator ride up was quiet, and they walked swiftly through the doors to the bullpen and to Hotch's office.

"Ok, see you here tomorrow at seven. That'll give us time to get re-organized and head back over." Hotch smiled at Reid. "Nice work today."

"Thanks, see you two tomorrow." The genius shot them a smile and strode out of the bullpen.

"So am I dropping you off?" Emily asked after their colleague was out of earshot, turning to Hotch who was locking up his briefcase in his desk drawer.

"If you don't mind, that would be great. I'll get something sorted out as soon as I can." Hotch smiled at her guiltily.

"Like I said, it's not a problem." Emily collected her bag and walked out into the hallway. "Looks like everyone's gone, they must have had an easy day."

"Yeah, Dave said they just caught up on some paperwork." Hotch closed his door and followed her down the stairs. "Hopefully it lasts."

Emily nodded and pressed the down button on the elevator. They both waited in silence, too tired to think about any awkwardness that might have been lingering. There was a loud ting and Emily smirked as she saw Hotch jump slightly. She was secretly glad that she wasn't the only one who was out of it.

Once they reached her car, she quickly loaded her bag in the backseat and got in the driver's seat. "Ok, need to stop anywhere before we head to your place?"

Hotch shook his head. "No, I'm good. Home is fine." She nodded and pulled out of the Bureau, heading towards Hotch's condo.

"What are you thinking about the photos?" Emily looked up at his question.

"I think a guy this meticulous has to be a control freak, especially considering the silent treatment." Emily turned onto Hotch's street. "It's possible he may have an eidetic memory in order to have the level of organization we saw in the drawings." She pulled up in front of his condo, putting the vehicle in park.

"We'll see what he gives us tomorrow, but I would agree about the drawings." Hotch dropped the seriousness of the conversation and shot her a smile. "Thank you Emily, I really appreciate it."

"No problem, be here at six?" He nodded. "Ok, see you then. Give Jack a hug for me."

"I will." He grabbed his bag from the back seat. "I'll see you at six. Have a good night."

"You too." She returned his smile and watched him shut the door. She waited until he got inside to pull out.

Heading towards her condo, her thoughts started to wander. She rubbed her eyes and focused on the road but the events of the day persisted to distract her. Finally, she reached her parking spot and threw herself out of the vehicle, jogging to her door. Once inside, she dropped her stuff and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth quickly before falling into her bed, semi-clothed. As she kicked off her pants and shoes, she had one final vision of the pictures Garcia had sent them earlier.

That night, she restlessly dreamed of the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and the Colosseum.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I guess I'm on a roll with this story. I've noticed a lot of you want more Jack, so you'll be happy with this chapter (I hope)! Also, I'm Canadian so you're getting everything in metric (i.e. 5 km). Thanks for the support! Your reviews and follows mean a lot to me!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

Emily opened her eyes at the sound of her alarm. She groaned and stretched, yawning widely. Checking her phone she noticed one text message from JJ. _How's the case going?_

She messaged her back. _Good, major breakthrough yesterday. Heading back soon._

Putting her phone down, Emily stood up from her bed. Thursdays were running mornings if she had the chance, and even though that meant getting up an hour earlier than she needed to it helped her relax and clear her head.

She sauntered into her bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face, then pulled her dark hair back into a small ponytail. Changing into a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt, she made her way to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and put on her running shoes. After doing a few stretches she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Luckily, there was a running path right by her house that took her on a five kilometer loop. She decided to only do one lap to save some time for breakfast with Hotch and Jack. Slowly she worked up to a solid jogging pace, her heart pounding in her chest as her feet moved faster. Emily imagined an UnSub ahead of her, and she sped up to chase after him.

Thirty minutes later she was headed back to her condo, drinking heavily from her water bottle while slowing her pace down. Her mind immediately flew to the case. The three images that Garcia had found when putting the lines together made her curious. She hadn't expected anything, but the clearness of the three landmarks had almost impressed her. To take that much time each year to build the pieces of the puzzle necessary for the final image was something that very few individuals had the talent to pull off.

Shaking her head, she halted her thoughts and walked up her steps. There was plenty of time for postulation later in the day. If she started now, she would be a mental mess by lunch time. Checking her watch, she walked swiftly to her shower. If she was going to be on time, she had to hustle.

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Emily checked her watch again. She was a little bit early, but she was confident Hotch was awake. She took out her phone and sent him a message. _I'm here._

He only kept her waiting for a moment. _Let yourself in. I'll be a few minutes still._

She turned off the vehicle and got out, locking the doors. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she walked up to his landing and turned the doorknob. The door opened easily and she stepped in.

Listening for sounds of movement, Emily made her way to the kitchen. The coffee pot was full of fresh liquid, and she grabbed herself a mug to pour some for herself.

"Hey." Emily turned around and smiled at Hotch, who was standing at the edge of the kitchen island. His hair was still slightly damp from his shower. "Sleep ok?"

She shrugged. "I was dead to the world for most of it. Crazy dreams though. How about you?"

"I got a couple hours." He moved to grab a cup for himself and filled it with coffee. "Jessica stayed here last night, so she's going to take Jack to school."

Emily nodded. "Want me to make something?" They still had a half hour before they had to leave.

"I don't even know what we have." Hotch moved past her to his fridge. He frowned at the relatively empty contents. "Eggs, cheese, and tomatoes."

Emily grabbed the bagels she spotted on the counter. "Breakfast sandwich it is. You want fried or scrambled eggs?"

"Whatever you want to do is fine." He took out a bagel slicer and started cutting four bagels. "Maybe fried. Less of a mess to eat." He grabbed the butter out of the fridge and put the first two halves into the toaster.

"Ok." She took a skillet out and turned the heat on medium. She cracked four eggs into the pan and added some salt and pepper. When she turned around, she noticed Hotch staring at her. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What?"

"Nothing, just zoned out." He went back to his bagels, trying to shove back his nightmare from last night. She had been falling through a maze of black lines, screaming for him to help her but she always slipped through his fingers. His nightmares usually involved members of the team, but it rarely was her that would make an appearance. "I'll do the tomatoes."

Her eyes lingered on him for another moment before she nodded. "Ok, thanks. Want me to melt the cheese right on these?"

"Sure." He handed her the bag of shredded Monterey Jack. He tried not to react to the feeling of her fingers touching his briefly. He brushed it off, starting to slice the tomatoes. "I'm thinking of bringing in the whole team if we get a lead today."

"I thought so," Emily admitted. She flipped the eggs and sprinkled more cheese on them. "Think we'll get anything out of him today?"

Hotch shrugged. "It's possible. But he's had enough mental resolution for this long, so who knows."

"There has to be something, a trigger that will break him."

Hotch put a tomato slice on each bagel. "We've broken his code. He's lost his control. It might be enough."

Emily nodded in agreement. She turned off the pan and took the plate of bagels from Hotch, sliding an egg onto each half. She passed them back to the man across from her, noticing his stare again. She set the plate down. "Tell me what's bothering you."

He tried to shake his head, but her look stopped him. She was genuinely concerned. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I-"

"Emily!" Both adults looked over to the little boy that was standing at the top of the stairs. "You're here!"

Emily smiled at Jack. "Hey buddy, I am. You're up early."

"I smelled something good." The little boy slowly made his way down the stairs to give Emily a hug. "Why are you here again?"

"Jack, that's not a polite question," Hotch scolded gently.

"Sorry Daddy. I just am so surprised!"

"It's ok," Emily said, smiling down at the little boy. "Your daddy's car got taken for a little while, so I'm going to help him until he needs it. Sound ok?"

"Yes, I like having you here Emily." The boy eyed the bagels on the counter. "Do I get to eat that?"

"Of course, but maybe you should go get ready for school first buddy." Hotch patted his son on the head. "Need me to help?"

"No Daddy, I can do it. Don't eat mine! I'll be back!" Jack ran up the stairs to his room. Emily laughed.

"What a kid." She turned to him, remembering their conversation prior to the interruption. "Aaron, if you ever want to talk about anything, you know I'm here. Anytime."

He nodded, giving her a wide smile. "Thanks Emily, I'll keep that in mind." He winked at her to lighten the tension. "I'm hungry." He took a big bite of one of the bagels.

"Starting without Jack? He's not going to like that," Emily teased. She took one of the bagels and cut it into four pieces and slid it on to one of Jack's superhero plates.

Hotch shrugged. "You snooze, you lose." He turned when he heard footsteps behind him.

"Good morning Aaron." A petite blonde woman came down the hall, yawning widely. "Oh, hello."

"Hi," Emily said, putting her hand out. "Nice to see you again Jessica."

"Likewise, Agent Prentiss."

"Emily, please." Emily motioned towards the bagels. "I made breakfast. Help yourself."

Jessica smiled at the brunette. "Thank you. I will." She shot Aaron a smile. "So this is the infamous Emily I've been hearing about non-stop from Jack?"

Hotch nodded. "This is her. I think she's made quite the impression on him."

"That's good, he needs more of that in his life." Jessica poured herself a cup of coffee and joined Aaron, slipping a bagel onto a plate.

"Emily has agreed to start teaching him how to cook," Hotch mentioned, smiling at Emily across the island. "She has quite the flair in the kitchen."

"I wouldn't say that, but I know my way around one." Emily refilled her cup of coffee and Hotch's. "The goal is to teach him that there's more to life than knowing how to cook mac and cheese."

"I think it's a great idea." Jessica smiled at Hotch in approval. "If your schedule allows it, that is."

"Whenever I have the time, I'll make it work," Emily said. "He's a great kid."

"Are you talking about me again?" Jack flew down the stairs, running up to his aunt. "Did you see Emily, Aunty?"

"I did honey. How did you sleep?"

"Good, I'm hungry now though. I wanna eat this!" Emily handed him his plate and returned his wide smile. "Thanks Emily! You cut it special just like Daddy."

Hotch checked his watch. "We have about five minutes before we should take off." He turned to his son. "Buddy, I can't drive you to school today because Emily and I have to go to work early."

"It's ok Daddy, Aunty and I have to have a serious talk." Jack smiled at his father. "It's top secret."

"Oh?" Jessica shrugged at Hotch's questioning look.

"Yes." Jack took a bite of his sandwich. "Yummy!"

Emily smirked at the boy, chuckling quietly. "But maybe if your dad and I have some time tomorrow, we can take you. If you have no more secret talks planned, that is."

Jack nodded. "Only today is my secret day."

"Ok, I'm going to go clean up," Hotch said, turning to Emily. "I'll be just a few minutes."

She nodded and watched him walk away. Finishing the last bite of her bagel, she put both of their plates in the dishwasher and rinsed out their mugs.

"Emily, are you Daddy's new girlfriend?" Emily's eyes widened at the question.

"No honey, your Daddy and I are just friends." She looked at Jessica for some assistance.

"Jack, finish eating. No more questions right now." Jessica winked at the brunette across from her.

"Are you my friend too Emily?"

"Of course I am buddy." Emily smiled at the boy. "I love being here with you."

"Ok." Jack was satisfied with the answer and focused his attention on his breakfast.

Emily silently told herself to calm down. He was just a kid, and kids asked those kinds of questions all the time. She busied herself with kitchen clean up until Hotch returned.

"Ready?" She nodded and dried her hands on a tea towel. "Ok buddy, have fun at school today. I'll call you later if I'm not going to be home on time."

"Ok Daddy." The little boy hopped off his chair and came around to give his dad a hug, then turned and gave Emily one. "Will you come to the spy museum with us Emily? Daddy said we could go when he was done work."

"Yes, I will. Your dad told me about it. I'm excited." She wrapped her arms around the little boy. "You have a good day today, ok?"

Jack nodded. "Ok, bye!"

Emily shot Jessica a smile. "It was nice to see you again."

"Yes, hopefully I'll see you again sometime. Maybe during one of Jack's cooking lessons."

"For sure, feel free to join anytime." Emily turned to Hotch. "Ok, should we go?"

"Yes, I'm ready." He turned and headed down the hallway to the front door where his bag was sitting.

Emily grabbed her keys and followed him, slipping her shoes on and opening the door. She gave one final wave to Jack and Jessica before heading out the door to start the car.

Hotch followed her closely, putting his bag in the backseat of her vehicle and slipping in to the passenger seat. "Thanks again."

"Don't mention it." She started the car and buckled her seatbelt. "It's a nice change from my usual routine." She pulled out of his street and headed towards the Bureau.

"Same here." Hotch pulled his phone out and checked his messages, his eyes flickering over one that Jessica had just sent. _She's good for you two._ He stared at his phone then put it away, shaking off the feelings that were welling up. Stay professional Aaron, he told himself.

"You want to stop for coffee?" Emily gestured to the clock.

"No I'm ok. I need a break from caffeine for a bit."

"Ok, probably a good idea." Emily took the next turn and they continued the rest of the drive in silence. Soon, they were pulling up to the familiar parking garage and Emily found her reserved spot, putting the car in park and shutting off the vehicle. The pair climbed out and grabbed their belongings.

"Well, well, well, look who it is." Emily's eyes shot up as she heard Rossi's voice. "Rough night?"

"Good morning Dave," Hotch greeted, ignoring his colleague's suggesting tone. "You're in early."

"Wanted to get a good start to the day. How was yesterday? Garcia sent me an update. That was quite a break through you made."

"Yes, it was," Hotch agreed. "We're heading back today. Depending on the level of cooperation we get from Milton, I might call the rest of you in. We're also thinking of going to interview the seventh victim."

"Good idea, who knows what this nut job will give up." Rossi pressed the up button on the elevator. The three stepped in as the doors opened. "Your car out of order today?"

Hotch nodded. "Yes, Prentiss agreed to pick me up." He bit his lip as her first name almost made its way out.

"Well that was nice of you." Rossi shot Emily a sly smile. He wasn't ignorant about the way the two of them looked at each other.

Emily shrugged. "No big deal." The doors opened and she stepped out, holding the door to the bullpen open for the two men.

"Morning Hotch, Emily." Reid stood up from his desk in greeting. "Hey Rossi, you're here early."

"I wanted to see how you kids were doing. Sounds like you're on a roll."

"Are you ready?" Hotch asked the young doctor, who nodded in response. "Ok, let's grab the boxes and we're out of here. Dave, update the team and tell them we'll call in a few hours if we need you to join us. Until then, see if you can find anything that connects the seven victims."

"Sure, I had Morgan start yesterday but I'll give him a hand today."

"Alright, let's head out." Hotch headed up to his office and unlocked his desk drawer to retrieve his briefcase. Emily and Reid took their respective boxes of drawings and followed him out of his office, nodding their appreciation as Rossi held the door for them.

It was time to get back to work.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thank you everyone for all of your feedback! It makes my day! I rewrote this chapter a few times, so hopefully it's to your liking. I do plan on having Jack's conversation with Jessica next so stay tuned!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

Hotch held the door for Emily and Reid with his foot as they entered the workroom. All three set their boxes down on the table. He glanced at his watch. "We have about twenty minutes before we meet Dr. Winslow."

"Garcia dropped off printouts yesterday of the complete pictures," Reid said, reaching into his bag and putting the photos on the table.

"They'll be useful for the interview. We might get lucky and catch him by surprise." Emily and Reid nodded in agreement. "Reid and I will lead. Prentiss, you watch him. We need to note everything, even the smallest facial tics."

"This guy hasn't slipped up in three years, you think we can break him?" Emily asked, noting the smirk on Reid's face.

"I don't know how long it'll take, but I know we're the best ones for the job." Hotch checked his watch again. "Ok, ten minutes and we'll head over."

A knock on the door caused the three agents to look up. Mallory Winslow was standing in the doorway holding a file. "Sorry, I just thought I would come to you. I have him in Hall A, which is just around the corner. Anytime you're ready we can go."

Hotch gathered his notebook. "Ok, give us a second. Prentiss, can you grab one set of the drawings?"

Emily nodded and picked up one of the boxes that contained a set of each year's drawings. "Ready."

"Ok, that should be everything. Where to?" The three followed Winslow out of the room and down a short hallway adjacent to the reception area. Turning into Room 111, she gestured at the two-way mirror.

"We had these installed last year. Helps to keep the patients somewhat comfortable and relaxed." She pointed to the table in front of the viewing slot. "If any of you would like to observe from here, feel welcome to. I've set up the tape recorder also, so I just have to start it before we go in. He won't even know."

"Alright, Dr. Winslow you go in first. Start everything like you would normally. We'll come in shortly." The doctor nodded and straightened her skirt before heading in. The agents stayed silent as she entered. They watched her take a seat and open the file, smiling at Milton.

"I'll keep watch." Hotch looked up at Emily, nodding. "Given his victim profile, if he's not budging I might be able to pry something out of him."

Hotch turned to Reid. "Let's play it cool. Reid, leave the compiled photos with Prentiss. They'll be our smoking gun." The young man nodded and handed the sheets to Emily.

Emily took the papers hurriedly. "She's starting the interview." The three listened to Winslow warm up with a few introductory questions. Milton stared straight at the wall behind her head, blinking slowly periodically while remaining silent.

"Ok, let's head in Reid." Hotch allowed Reid to enter the room first, and shot Emily a small smile before heading in, which she returned.

A small flutter went through her chest as she watched him walk into the room. Pathetic, she thought. Shaking it off she walked over to the viewing slot and took a seat, listening to Hotch and Reid introduce themselves.

Hotch straightened his tie and sat down across from Milton, focusing his eyes on the man who seemed unfazed by his presence. "Mr. Milton, I hope you don't mind if we ask you a few questions today."

Milton continued to stare at the wall. Reid set the box down and opened it, pulling out each drawing carefully one by one. He had memorized the order thanks to Garcia sending him the list earlier, and he knelt down and started placing the drawings around the floor in order, his mind working to visualize them as a whole.

"Mr. Milton, do you mind if I call you Peter?" No response. "You were responsible for the murders of Felicity Brawn, Helen Mack, Abigail White, Robin Harrison, Rose Waters and Marilyn Smart. What did they do to make you so angry?" Hotch was met with silence and a blank stare.

"Peter, it's alright. Agent Hotchner means no harm, he simple wants to use your information towards his team's research." Mallory Winslow searched Milton's face for a sign of recognition, and sighed when she saw none.

Hotch checked Reid's progress out of the corner of his eye and noticed the younger man was a little more than half way done with spreading out the first three hundred and sixty nine paintings. "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable Peter. Let's start again." He stood up, careful not to step on any papers. Slowly, he took his suit jacket off and hung it on the back of his seat and sat down again. "You were born in Indiana. Moved to the D.C. area when you were five with your mother Eleanor. Your father stayed behind to run the family business and they separated six months later. Was that hard on you?"

Milton remained silent. Hotch rubbed his chin, changing his tactic. "You know, my father was away a lot when I was a kid too. He was a lawyer. Always busy, not much time for me. My mother hated it." He took a deep breath before continuing. "She knew that he was bad for us, but she always told me she didn't have the courage to leave him. She was afraid of him." His attention immediately shifted as he noticed Milton blink twice in rapid succession and prayed that Emily had caught it too.

"My father left me when I was ten," Reid added from the floor, not looking up from his work. "My mother would read to me day after day, stories from across the world. I would dream about the characters, imagining them playing with me in different cities."

"When your father left, your mother stepped in to make sure you had the best childhood you could." Hotch flipped through his case file. "Private schools, riding lessons, tutors. She worked three jobs to support the two of you. He didn't pay a penny." Hotch noted the speed of Milton's blinking had slowly increased. The response was hopefully a reaction to an increase in heartbeat.

Reid stood up, looking across the room from the corner he was standing in. "With that level of financial support, there must not have been time for you to leave the city."

"I also attended a private school and the thing I loved the most was going on trips. Did you like travelling?" Dr. Winslow spoke up, catching on to the direction that Hotch and Reid were taking the interview. "Where did you get to go?"

No answer. "There must have been some pretty exciting trips, even overseas I would imagine." Hotch pulled out a map, opening it to Europe and placing it in front of Milton. "I always wanted to take my wife to Paris. She told me it was the one city she regretted not visiting when she was younger."

From behind the window, Emily sighed deeply at the mention of Haley. The thought of Paris made her shiver, thinking back to her time there while she waited to hear news of Doyle. That six month time period had ruined her love of the city, and now all she associated with it was despair. But she had to admit, the romantic atmosphere had captured her when she had first visited. Shaking her thoughts off, she went back to listening to the interview and watching Milton.

Hotch unbuttoned his sleeves and rolled them up. "You were a bright student, Peter. Straight A's, admission to Yale to study sociology and international relations, and you even put a down payment on a bungalow." He took out a series of crime scene photos and slid them in front of the silent man. "What changed?"

Reid tiptoed back to the table and slipped into a seat next to Hotch. He opened his own file and took out another photo, turning it over to show Milton. "Did she remind you of better times?" Charlotte Bandsmith smiled back at the four, her eyes shining in the glossy photo. "She was only nineteen. Had just been accepted to Harvard. Something you both had in common, both going to Ivy League schools."

"She works at a local library now," Hotch added, shaking his head. "A shame really, she could've been a great lawyer." Milton blinked three times in a row, and Hotch felt a small ounce of excitement. They were getting somewhere.

Reid took a pencil and slid it across the table along with a blank sheet of paper. He shot a look to Hotch signalling him to continue. The older man nodded slightly.

"I want to do a small exercise Peter. It's easy. All I want you to do is draw whatever comes to your mind. Whenever you're ready, you can start. But I still would like you to listen to our questions." Hotch pointed at the piece of paper. Milton continued to stare straight ahead for a few moments, then looked down and took the pencil in his hand and started to draw.

"We've been looking at your drawings, they're quite magnificent I must say. I'm extremely impressed at the level of detail you've put into each of them," Reid complimented, pointing around him to the drawings on the floor. "Did you take art classes when you were younger?"

Milton continued to draw, starting to form the beak of an owl. His hands flew across the page swiftly but with great precision, the bird coming to form quickly on the page.

Dr. Winslow looked at the drawing, watching Milton sketch a tree. "Peter, I know you're very talented. Please, tell us where you learned your skills." The man ignored her, his eyes skimming his finished work. He slowly traced his pencil back and forth several times over one of the lines leaving his signature. He looked up and went back to staring at the wall.

Hotch could feel his patience start to be tested. "Peter, your drawings are special. They tell a story, don't they?" He gestured to the floor at the drawings Reid had laid out. "Tell me, why did you choose those three landmarks?"

"Paris, London, Rome. The top three most visited cities in Europe." Reid interrupted.

"Did you visit them too Peter?" Winslow pried.

Milton stood up from his chair slowly. Hotch shot Reid a cautionary look while they watched the man move around the room. Finally, Milton stopped in the corner where Reid had laid the first drawing and knelt down to sit on the open space. He continued to stare at the wall.

Dr. Winslow sighed. "I'm sorry gentleman, but it seems Peter is dismissing us for the day." If they continued to prod him, he would refuse his meals for a week and the psychiatrist wanted to avoid that. "Peter, I'll see you tomorrow." She stood up and pressed a button on the table, motioning for the men to stand next to her as two men in white coats entered the room and escorted Milton out of the room. He didn't even bat an eye at them. The sound of paper crunching beneath his feet echoed around them and they watched him disappear out the door.

Emily waited until Milton was being escorted down the hallway before entering the room. "Well that went well." She could feel the frustration from both of her co-workers. She had been itching to enter the interview, but unfortunately Milton wasn't even close to playing the game their way.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow." Hotch bent down to pick up the drawings but stopped when Reid held up a hand.

"I know the order, just wait." The young genius started collecting the papers quickly, stacking them neatly in his hands as he went.

Hotch picked up the newest drawing of the owl on the table and held it up. He snapped a photo of it and emailed it to Garcia. "He knows we've caught on." He ran his fingers along the darkened line that Milton had highlighted. "Look at this."

Emily leaned over to look at the drawing, her eyes going over the line. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I see a C, M, and a B," Dr. Winslow said, pointing to the drawing. "Or am I wrong?"

"No, I think that's what it is. Our technical analyst will confirm."

Emily frowned. "C-M-B. You think it's a coincidence?"

Hotch shook his head. "No, it's too specific. He's too controlled for it to be a fluke." He passed the drawing to Reid, who was stacking the original drawings back in the box and nodded in agreement when he saw the drawing.

"I'm sorry Agent Prentiss, what coincidence are you talking about?" Mallory Winslow had a genuine look of confusion on her face.

"The seventh victim," Hotch answered, holding out his file for her to see. "Her legal name is Charlotte Marie Bandsmith."

The psychiatrist's eyebrows shot up. "You're correct, that can't be mere chance."

Emily pressed the speed dial on her phone. "Morgan, it's Prentiss. I'm with Hotch and Reid."

"Hey Princess, what do you need?"

"We need you to find the link between our seventh victim and Peter Milton. There's a good chance they knew each other." Her eyes connected with Hotch and she knew they were on the same page. "Garcia has all the preliminary information."

"You got it. Hit you back when I find something."

"Thanks, we'll be here." Emily ended the call and turned to Hotch. "I think we need to go speak to her in person. I have a hunch there's something she's hiding."

"I'll call Garcia and get the information. We can be there in half an hour if we plan it right," Hotch said, pulling out his phone. "Pack up here in case we don't finish before the evening. I'll meet you by reception."

Emily and Reid nodded and followed him out the door with Dr. Winslow closely behind them. They stopped at the work room and collected their things, waiting in the hall while Hotch talked to Garcia.

"So what do you need me to do?" Dr. Winslow asked, gesturing towards the work room.

"We need to talk to Charlotte Bandsmith. We'll show her the drawings, and see what she says. There's a strong possibility she and Milton knew each other," Emily explained. "I'll call you when we wrap up, but I'm assuming we'll be back tomorrow for another interview."

The psychiatrist nodded. "Of course, by all means. I'll be here late so call when you're ready." She looked at her watch. "If you'll excuse me, I have an appointment to keep. Stay in touch."

Emily and Reid nodded and watched her leave. Reid twiddled his thumbs restlessly, biting his lip as he waited for Hotch.

"Ok, we're all set." They looked up at Hotch as he opened the door. "We're meeting her on a 'routine follow up'. One hour at her house." He took his box from Emily and led the way out of the hallway and into the parking lot.

It was shortly after one in the afternoon, so the lot was full. Hotch scowled at the vehicle next to theirs that had boxed them in. Emily took the box from him as he went to set it down and tried to hide her smirk that came from watching him try to squeeze his way into the car.

Moving to the side, she waited for Reid to put his box into the back seat and followed suite. Climbing in to the front seat, she buckled her seat belt and turned to Hotch while raising an expectant eyebrow.

"I'll stop on the way quickly so we can pick up something to eat. We're only twenty five minutes away so we should have a little time." Hotch pulled the vehicle out of the parking lot and nodded at the gate attendant as they drove past.

"Sounds good." Emily folded her hands in her lap. "I didn't think we'd get anything out of him."

"Well, he didn't give us much, but it's enough to go on." Hotch shot her a quick look and turned his eyes back to the road. "He likely doesn't even realize anymore what he's doing with the drawings. It's just instinct. He's learned a new way to communicate over the last three years."

Emily nodded. She stretched her neck back and forth, rubbing at the knot that JJ had tried to loosen up the day before. She sighed and dropped her hand, not noticing Hotch's eyes flicker towards her briefly.

"What do you want?" Hotch slowed down as he approached a rest stop with a few fast food chain restaurants.

"Something fast and light." Emily smiled as Hotch pulled into a salad bar chain. "Perfect."

"Ok, five minutes." Emily and Reid nodded and walked swiftly to the entrance. True to their word, all three agents were in and out with their meals in no time.

Hotch handed his sandwich to Emily while he started the vehicle. He shot her a smile when she handed it back unwrapped for him to eat. "Thanks."

Emily nodded and dug into her salad with gusto. They weren't far away and she didn't want to be caught with lettuce in her teeth while she was interviewing their victim. The drive continued in silence, and soon they were pulling up to Charlotte Bandsmith's address. Hotch collected the garbage and stored it in the back seat.

"Ok. Let's just bring in one set of these. You still have the merged files Prentiss?" Emily nodded and gestured towards her bag. "Good. She should be expecting us." Hotch led them up the stairs and knocked on the door.

After a few moment, a short, slim brunette answered the door. "Yes?"

"I'm Agent Hotchner with the FBI. We spoke on the phone." Hotch reached forward to shake the woman's hand and showed his ID. "This is Agent Emily Prentiss and Dr. Spencer Reid. They accompanied me today."

Emily shook the woman's hand and Reid smiled and nodded at her. "Of course, come right in. Can I get you anything?" Charlotte moved aside so the three could enter her home. "I just made iced tea this morning."

"No thank you, we're fine." Hotch waited for the woman to lead the way. She turned down the short hallway into a small living room. Taking a seat, he turned to take the box from Emily when he noticed how she was staring at the fireplace mantle. Following her gaze, his hunch was confirmed.

Sitting on the mantle was a small glass owl figurine.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: So in the last chapter, I didn't know if it would be OOC for Hotch to talk about Haley in the interview. Maybe a little? Anyways, this chapter is for the Jack lovers! SECRET TALK TIME! It's just a short one. Thanks for all of your reviews and follows so far. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

If there was one similarity between Jack Hotchner and his father, it was the urge to be on time. "Auntie, we're going to be late! It's 7:02 already!"

"Sorry honey, I'm almost ready. Do you have your backpack?" Jessica smiled at her nephew who was vigorously shaking his head. "Ok, I just need my purse. Here, take the keys. You can start the car."

Jack beamed at her, and held out his hands. He giggled as he took the keys, racing out the door. Only big boys got to do this. Running to Jessica's car he unlocked the door and climbed into the front passenger seat, swinging his backpack into the back seat. He slipped the key into the steering wheel and turned it gently, careful not to overdo it like Jessica had warned him.

"Ok, I'm here." Jessica slid into the driver's seat and buckled herself in, waiting for Jack to do the same before pulling out of the parking spot. "So, what did you want to talk to me about buddy?"

"You have to promise first not to tell Daddy or Emily." Jack gave her a serious look, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"Ok I promise," Jessica said, raising her hand to her heart. "Scout's honor."

Jack nodded. "I think that Daddy likes Emily."

"Well of course he does, they work together honey."

"No Aunt Jess, I mean he LIKES likes her." Jack smiled at his aunt. "Emily said they aren't boyfriend and girlfriend but I think they are."

Jessica nodded, smiling at her nephew. "And if they were, would you be ok with that?"

"Yes, I like her a lot. Not like Daddy likes her though," Jack said. "She's really cool!" He paused before continuing. "Do you think it would be ok with Mommy if I like her?"

Jessica felt her eyes start to tear up, but she blinked them away. "Of course Mommy would be ok with it. Your Mommy knew Emily too. They got along very well."

"Good." Jack stared out the window and watched the scenery pass by. "I miss her, but not as much when Emily visits me." He looked over to his aunt guiltily after the submission.

"That's OK, honey. Mommy knows you will always love her. And I know she'd be happy that you like being with Emily too so that you aren't lonely." Jessica brushed Jack's hair back affectionately. Time to lighten the conversation. "So, what are we going to do? Do you think your Daddy needs a little help with Emily."

Jack shrugged. "Daddy's the best. But we could help him, just in case he gets nervous like me."

"Ok, but we have to be a little careful honey." The last thing she wanted to do was to force Aaron into something he may not even be ready for or Emily too for that matter. "We have to just do little things to help. I think your Daddy can figure most of it out on his own. He's smart just like you."

"Yes, I know. He's the best!" Jack smiled at his aunt. "Ok, small steps Auntie Jess! We'll never get caught either!" He giggled loudly, clapping his hands.

Jessica laughed at her nephew's silliness. She was glad to see he was slowly opening up this past year. And even though her heart still ached for the absence of her sister, she had to admit that Emily Prentiss was a great match for her brother-in-law.

Pulling up to the front gates of Jack's school, Jessica stopped and opened her wallet. "Here, this is for a snack after recess. I only packed you a yogurt with your lunch." She handed him a five dollar bill.

"Thank you!" Jack reached for his backpack and swung it over the center console, tucking the money into one of the inside pockets. "See you later, Auntie! Love you!" He held out his arms for a hug which Jessica accepted with a kiss on the cheek.

"See you after school, sweetheart. Love you." Jessica watched as her nephew ran off, catching up with one of his friends near the front gates. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text message to her brother-in-law before maneuvering the vehicle around the cul-de-sac. She pulled back onto the highway with a smile lingering on her lips. A little push now and then wouldn't hurt.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: I watched "Lauren" last night and teared up a little. It's amazing all of the little things you catch the third time watching it, like Hotch's goofy smiling picture when they call Emily's cell at the beginning of the episode and find it in her desk. Or maybe I just notice that now because of my newfound shipper status of Hotch and Emily together? Anyways, here's another chapter. Holy smokes this is going on way longer than I expected and now I have a casefile…oh boy. Hopefully you all are enjoying it! Love seeing your reviews, thank you all so much!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1_

Hotch sat down on the small sofa, shooting Emily and Reid a quick glance to confirm they had also seen what he had on the mantle. They both nodded slightly, Reid taking a seat next to Hotch while Emily leaned on the side of the couch. "Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice today Miss Bandsmith."

"Of course, and you can call me Charlotte. Miss Bandsmith was my mother's name," Charlotte said, smiling tightly at the agents. "So, what's all this about a follow up?"

"It's standard procedure, let me reassure you," Hotch confirmed. "We are currently in the process of trying to interview Peter Milton. He's been less than cooperative in the last few years."

"But why do you need to do that?" Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest protestingly. "He was tried and found guilty. Countless evidence against him too."

"It's not that we think he's innocent to any means," Emily added, trying to calm the girl. "We study his behaviour which is then used to compare for similarities in other future cases. It's not an effort to dismantle the verdict by any means."

Charlotte nodded, uncrossing her arms. "Have you seen him?"

"Yes, we've been trying to talk to him," Hotch answered. "Unfortunately, he's taken a vow of silence."

"What?" Charlotte's eyebrows shot up. "He's not talking?"

"Typically a vow of silence doesn't last very long, simply due to lack of self-control," Reid explained. "In this case however, three years of not speaking a word shows us that Milton is incredibly persistent and controlled when it comes to his emotions."

Charlotte chewed her bottom lip nervously. "Well I don't think I can help you. Honestly, I've tried to push that night out of my head and move on."

The sound of a buzzing phone startled Emily, and she looked down to see Garcia calling her. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll be right back." She caught Hotch's eye as she left the room. She knew that she wasn't alone in having a small inclination that there was more to the story than Charlotte was revealing.

Stepping out onto the porch, Emily walked out into the street so that the conversation would be somewhat private. "Go ahead Garcia."

"Ok my sweet, I have something that may or may not be a coincidence," Garcia chirped, her fingers clicking across her keyboard. "But then again, there aren't many coincidences when it comes to murder these days are there?"

Emily smirked. "What do you have Penelope?"

"Well as strange as it may seem, all of our victims do have something in common with Peter Milton. Victims one and two even stayed at the same hostel."

"Let me guess. Felicity Brawn and Helen Mack were in Paris, Abigail White and Robin Harrison were in London, and Rose Waters and Marilyn Smart were in Rome," Emily ventured.

"Bang on the money mademoiselle. And going through Felicity Brawn's Facebook page, I found photos of her and Helen Mack standing by the Eiffel Tower. They both signed up for the same travel group."

"Okay, so Milton likely meets his victims while he's traveling. Was he alone at the time?" Emily asked.

"So far, I've only found records of him booking single rooms," Garcia answered. "But he was definitely in the same countries as our victims while they were traveling."

"What about Charlotte Bandsmith?"

"I'm still looking into it but it looks like Charlotte was in the good old U-S of A studying hard for her finals. Credit card purchases were made at the university coffee shops the same weeks our victims were out of the country." The blonde typed away and pulled up the transaction history. "The same coffee shop employed her for two years prior to her attack."

"Ok, so she's our missing link right now." Emily frowned, pacing down the sidewalk. "Has she ever been out of the country to any of the places the victims visited?"

"As a matter of fact, she's never been outside of North America," Garcia confirmed.

"So she wasn't a traveller, probably couldn't afford it with student loans," Emily pondered. Other than her appearance, Charlotte Bandsmith didn't seem to fit the victim profile at all.

"You are correct on that front my peach. Harvard was not nice to this girl at all. She was fifty grand in debt by her second year."

Emily looked up to see Hotch and Reid walking down the front steps. She quirked an eyebrow at them. "I'll call you back, keep digging."

"You got it, hit you back as soon as I get something!"

Emily hung up and turned to Hotch. "What happened?"

"She got called in to work. Any news?"

"Yes, Garcia determined that the first six victims were in the same country at the same time as Milton," Emily explained. "Felicity Brawn and Helen Mack knew each other. Garcia confirmed the connection through social media. They also had the same accommodations in Paris at the hostel that Milton was staying at."

Hotch nodded. "So he met each of his victims while traveling. Maybe struck up a conversation when their guard was down."

"When I would travel, it wasn't uncommon for all of us staying in the shared dorms to stay up late and talk about where we were from," Emily said. Of course she had always lied about her family, and it made her uneasy how so many people she had met had willingly wanted to exchange addresses with her. "They meet him in the hostel, find out he's from the same city and they let their guard down. Maybe even go sightseeing with him."

"Then he gets their contact information so they can exchange pictures when they get back," Reid suggested. "Maybe agree to meet him somewhere to talk about their travels."

Hotch nodded in agreement. "It's a good start. What about Charlotte?"

"Garcia's still looking into it, but that's the part that doesn't quite fit," Emily explained. "She never travelled overseas to any of the locations our other victims did. Didn't even leave North America."

"Right now the only connection Milton and Charlotte seem to have is they were both raised by single parents," Reid noted. "Charlotte said her mother was known as 'Miss', not 'Mrs.'"

"If they knew each other and were both raised by single mothers, it's possible that could be how he got close to her." Hotch nodded at Emily's suggestion. "He's been in her house. There's no other way he would have known about the owl figurine. He must have stalked her before he made his move."

"And the fact that none of his drawings reflect landmarks where he met Charlotte with the exception of today's, it's possible they never actually met outside of the city," Reid said.

Emily nodded. "If he's drawing about places they met, maybe the owl figurine shows that the first time they met was in her home?" She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "The only question is why would she withhold that information?"

"Let's get back to the office. We should brief the rest of the team." Emily and Reid nodded and followed Hotch to the SUV. "We can try and come back tomorrow. She also agreed to come into Quantico if necessary, but she'll likely open up if we come to a place that's on her comfort level."

As they climbed in and drove away, Charlotte Bandsmith let slip the curtain she was holding open and her face disappeared from the window.


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Wow. It's been awhile since I've seen "Nameless, Faceless", so I never realized how apparent Emily's concern for Hotch being MIA was. And the look on her face when he's in the hospital bed…holy smokes the emotion. So here's another chapter. They were never romantically canon, but it really seems like it happened. So I'm gonna roll with that. This is a longer one…it just kept going and going. Thanks for your reviews! I hope I'm keeping them relatively in character. And PS, SO EXCITED PAGET IS COMING BACK FOR EPISODE 200!_

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. I also do not own any rights to Finding Nemo._

Hotch nodded his thanks to Emily as she held the door to the bull pen open for him and Reid. "Conference room in ten. Grab JJ and Morgan on your way. Reid, notify Garcia and have her meet us here."

"You got it Hotch," the young doctor confirmed, pulling out his phone.

Emily watched Hotch move through the bullpen into the conference room where Rossi was working before she looked to Morgan's desk. The man in question was missing from his seat so Emily sent him a quick text message and made her way to JJ's office.

"Hey, you're back," the blonde commented, smiling at her friend. "Any leads?"

Emily smiled back at her. "We had a few developments. Hotch wants us to meet in the conference room in ten. Have you seen Morgan?"

"Yeah I heard him say something about going to refill his coffee cup a few minutes ago." Emily stuck her head out the door and saw him through the break room window. "Everything good?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, I'm a bit tired but thank god we took Reid with us."

"That's not what I meant exactly," JJ said, smirking. "But we don't have enough time to get into it right now."

"You're right about that." Emily rolled her eyes. "I have it under control. I'll keep you informed."

"You better." JJ picked up her notebook and followed Emily out of the office, shutting the door behind her. The blonde waved at Morgan who was gathering his things from his desk, and the two women waited for him to join them at the top of the staircase.

Walking into the conference room, Emily took a spot next to Hotch and opened her notes. She gave Garcia a small smile as she waited for the meeting to start.

"Alright everyone, let's get started." Hotch looked up at his team. "Earlier today, we went to meet with the seventh victim Charlotte Bandsmith. There was positive identification that Peter Milton had been in her home at some point." He slide the photocopy to the center of the table showing Milton's drawing of the owl statue. "The same figurine is sitting on her fireplace mantle."

"We also established that Milton most likely met his victims while they were traveling, either at the same hostel or perhaps through other tour groups," Emily added. "The only thing out of place is Charlotte. There's no record of her and Milton traveling to the same country."

"So he met her on US soil," Rossi deduced.

"He knew her well enough to know her middle name. It's the only alternative. And we know that both Charlotte and Milton were children raised by single parents."

"A fact that I confirmed," Garcia added. "Charlotte was raised by her mother Madeline. Her father was killed in a car accident when Charlotte was five."

"We need to determine how Charlotte and Milton met each other. Prentiss, Reid and I will be going back to try and speak with Milton tomorrow." Hotch turned to Rossi. "I need you and Morgan to go to the coffee shop that Charlotte used to work at. Talk to the owners and employees and see if anyone worked with her."

"You got it. If Milton stalked her there, one of them may even recognize him." Hotch nodded in confirmation.

"Garcia, you and JJ dig deeper into Charlotte and Milton's lives. See if you can find his mother, Eleanor, and if she's willing to talk set up an interview." Both women nodded. Hotch turned to the brunette to his left. "Prentiss call Dr. Winslow and see when she can set up another interview for us with Milton."

"You got it."

"Alright, that's all. Remember, this is just a profile consult. Don't stay too late if you don't need to. Call if you find anything." Everyone stood up from their chairs as Hotch dismissed the meeting. He grabbed Emily's arm before she left his side. "Reid, hold on."

The young man nodded and joined Emily and Hotch. "Are we sitting in on the call to Dr. Winslow?"

"Yes, I want to help fill her in on the situation. Our next interview with Milton needs to change." He motioned for Emily to proceed with the call, and she placed her cell phone on the table on speaker phone. After a few rings, the psychiatrist answered.

"Dr. Mallory Winslow speaking."

"This is Agent Hotchner. I have Agents Prentiss and Reid with me."

"Ah, hello Agents. Perfect timing, I just got out of my last appointment for the evening. Did you speak with Miss Bandsmith?"

"Yes we were able to meet with her. There have been some new developments with the case so we'll need to speak with Milton again as soon as possible," Hotch requested. He checked his watch and winced as he saw the time. "I'm assuming we'll have to schedule that for tomorrow?"

"Yes I'm afraid so. Unless you can be here within an hour, you'll have to wait. I can get him in first thing in the morning if that works."

"That'll be fine. We'll update you then," Hotch said.

"Perfect. Enjoy your evenings, I'll see you tomorrow." The psychiatrist ended the call.

Hotch turned to Emily and Reid. "It's already seven. Finish up your notes for tonight on the profile and then we'll meet back here tomorrow. Don't stay too late."

Emily stood up, lingering while Reid left the room ahead of her. "Just come and get me when you're ready to go. I'll be at my desk."

Hotch shot her a small smile. "Ok, I'll only be an hour or so. Thanks."

"See you then." Emily returned the smile and slipped out of the conference room.

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Emily scribbled in her notebook as she went through her case file. Her eyes scanned over the copy of Milton's most recent sketch. A hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"Sorry." She whirled around to where Hotch was standing next to her. "I should have spoken up."

"It's ok, I was in the zone." She gave him a small smile and stood up, stretching her arms behind her back. "Ready?"

"Yes, I think so." He stopped his eyes from wandering to the small exposure of skin below her shirt that rode up as she lifted her arms. The rest of the team had left an hour ago and although Hotch had promised to be finished in an hour, that hour had stretched to three. "I was caught up in some paperwork. You should have gone without me."

"It's fine. I managed to get some good work done anyway." She pushed her chair into her desk and grabbed her bag. "Shall we?"

Hotch nodded. "Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," Emily shrugged. "Want to grab something?"

"I know a place by my condo. It's take out only, so we could pick some food up on the way. Jack already ate dinner but he might still be up. Jessica lets him stay up a little later on Fridays."

"Sounds good." Emily followed him into the elevator. "He's a sweetheart."

Hotch smiled at her. "Well you certainly have his stamp of approval."

The doors to the elevator opened to the parking garage, and Hotch allowed Emily to exit first. "I enjoy spending time with him too. And it was nice to see Jessica."

"I don't know what I would have done without her help." Hotch climbed into Emily's vehicle and waited for her to do the same. "Well, I do know. I wouldn't be in the field."

Emily nodded and pulled the vehicle out of her parking spot. "Do you ever think about changing your mind?"

"Some days I do," Hotch confirmed. "But I get home and he asks me if I caught the bad guy and wraps his arms around me, and it makes the decision a little easier."

"You're his hero. I hope you know that." Emily turned on the air conditioning to low. "So, where am I going?"

"Take the highway, and then at the turn off to my street take the first left immediately after. A place called Dmitri's." Hotch pulled out his cell phone. "I'm just going to touch base with Jess."

Emily nodded, focusing on the drive while she listened to Hotch talk. Soon enough, she took the turn as Hotch instructed and pulled into the small restaurant. She waited for Hotch to get off the phone.

"He's still up and waiting for us. I told her we would be there in twenty." Hotch stepped out of the vehicle. "Come on, I'm starving."

Emily followed him, smirking. "Yes sir." Her mouth started watering as she stepped into the small restaurant. "Oh my word, that smells amazing."

"It smells as good as it tastes." Hotch winked at her and turned to a small Russian man standing behind the counter. "Hello, we'll take four of the Pirozhkis and a large cabbage soup please."

The man nodded and rang up Hotch's order. "Forty five sixty nine please."

Emily reached for her wallet, but Hotch put a hand on her arm to stop her. "But Hotch-"

"Don't even try, Emily." Hotch handed the man his credit card and punched in his information.

The man smiled at the gracious tip and gestured to the bar stools next to the window counter. "It'll be about ten minutes, please have a seat."

Hotch pulled out two stools for him and Emily to sit on. She smiled at him. "Thanks, you didn't have to."

"Yes, I did." He smiled back at her. "So, do you still want to join us for the museum? I was thinking of taking Jack on the holiday Monday now, depending on how the case turns out of course." They could be waiting months until Milton cracked. He winced at the thought.

"Sure, I'd love to. If nothing else comes in I have nothing planned."

"Great. If it works out, Jack will have a blast I think. I haven't been in a number of years but the last time I was there I enjoyed it quite a bit." Hotch looked back at the food pick up counter, changing the subject. "You'll have to tell me how good this is in comparison to authentic Russian cuisine."

Emily smirked at him. "I'm hardly an expert. We weren't there for very long, but I have to admit I stuffed my face at every chance I got."

"Fair enough." Hotch stood up as their order was brought to the counter. He smiled at the man and thanked him, turning to Emily. "If we hurry it'll still be hot by the time we get to my place."

Emily shot him a smile and held the door for him. "By all means, let's get a move on." She assumed at this point it was silly to ask if she was staying.

The drive to Hotch's condo only took a few minutes, and Emily's stomach was making noises by the time they walked in the front door from the smell of the food. She smiled as Jack came running down the hall in his pajamas to greet them. "Daddy! Emily!"

"Hey buddy, let me just put this down." Hotch shuffled past his son as he placed the take out containers on the counter. "Ok, come here. Where's my hug?" He chuckled as Jack launched himself into his arms.

Emily admired father and son from afar as she slipped off her shoes. She caught a glimpse of Jessica coming down the hall and smiled at the woman. "We meet again."

Jessica smiled at the brunette. "Yes we do. Nice to see you, I hope the day went alright."

Emily shrugged. "It went pretty well. We got a bit of a break, and since we're operating on a government building's schedule it's a bit more slack. No crazy hours."

"I know Jack appreciates that. It's a treat when Aaron's home this much." Jessica smirked at the food on the counter. "I see he convinced you to stop at Dmitri's on the way home?"

"It didn't take much to convince her," Hotch said, smirking at Emily. "No human can resist this deliciousness."

Emily rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Jessica. "Are you joining us?"

"No, I think I'll head home. I have some laundry to get done. I'll be back in the morning though, will I see you then?"

Emily nodded, smiling at the woman. "Yes, I'll be here to pick up Aaron bright and early."

"Great, enjoy your night." Jessica picked up her purse and headed towards the door. "I'll text you when I'm on my way tomorrow Aaron. Bye honey, I'll see you in the morning. Come give me a kiss." She gestured at Jack, kneeling down.

Jack walked over to his aunt and leaned up to her cheek. "Bye Aunty, I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." Jessica gave one more wave at Emily and Hotch and slipped out the door.

Hotch listened for the door deadbolt to click into place, then turned to grab bowls and plates out of the cupboard. "Jack, do you want to watch a movie while Emily and I eat? You can pick a short one."

"Yay! I want Nemo!" Jack ran over to the DVD shelf and pulled out the blue movie. "Can I Daddy?"

Hotch nodded. "Can you do it by yourself or do you need me to help?"

Jack shook his head. "I know how to do it Daddy. I do it all the time now. Aunty showed me."

"Ok, go ahead. We'll be there in a minute." Hotch pulled out a ladle and divided the soup between himself and Emily and put the meat buns on a plate. "Want any pepper or salt?"

"Sure, I'll have a little pepper thanks." Emily took the pepper grinder from Hotch and added some to her soup. "I am so excited to eat this."

Hotch smiled. "Let's go to the living room. We can watch with him if you like."

"Ok, I haven't seen that movie in a while." Emily shrugged at Hotch's look. "What? Sometimes I watch cartoon movies when we've had a bad case."

"Sounds reasonable." He handed her the plate of meat buns. "I'm quite fond of Dory myself."

Emily laughed and followed him to the couch, taking a seat on the right of Jack who had sprawled in the middle of Hotch's sectional. "Mind if I squeeze in buddy?"

"Sorry Emily," Jack said, sliding his legs down. "Are you having a sleep over with us?"

"No buddy, I'm just here to visit." Emily set down the plate and took her soup from Hotch. She took a spoonful and almost melted. "Oh god, this is delicious."

"Shhh, it's starting!" Jack's eyes were immediately glued to the screen. Emily chuckled and continued to eat, sharing a smile with Hotch.

They both ate in silence as the movie played on. Emily set her bowl on the coffee table and refused the second bun that Hotch held out to her. "No way, I'm stuffed."

"Pretty good?"

"Oh yeah, I'm totally going back. I'm very impressed at how authentic it tasted. Reminded me of the food we would eat during the cold winters when we were there." Emily wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Good." Hotch took her bowl and set it on top of his, juggling the plate in his other hand. "Would you like a drink?"

"Water would be great, thanks." Emily stood up to help him but he bumped his hip against hers.

"You stay, I got it." He walked to the kitchen and placed the dishes in the dishwasher. Pulling out two glasses, he filled them with filtered water from his sink and walked back over to the couch. He smiled as he noticed how Jack had spooned himself against Emily.

"Thanks." Emily smiled and took the water from Hotch. She drank half the glass and checked her watch. "I should probably get going and let you guys get settled in."

Jack's head popped up. "No you can't! It's only half way done!" Jack pointed to the screen where the two fish friends were about to swim through a giant wall of rock. "Please Daddy, make her stay."

Emily shot Hotch a look and chewed her lip. He shrugged and gestured to the TV. "It's only another forty five minutes. You're not imposing, but if you need to get going that's fine."

"Hmmm." Emily looked at Jack's innocent eyes pleading with her to stay, and she gave in. "Ok, I'll stay if you say so little man."

Jack smiled and turned back to the movie. "Good." He turned his head and leaned against Emily's side, snuggling in.

Emily smiled widely and turned to Hotch, who shot her a wink. She hadn't felt this accepted in a long time, and it was hard to turn down an adorable little boy with an extremely handsome father. She felt Hotch raise his arm behind her back and scoot over closer to his son.

Hotch turned to her to check her reaction, and her smile confirmed that his close proximity was acceptable. He had to resist the urge to touch her raven hair, and focused his attention back to the movie.

The three watched the movie in silence. As the credits started to roll, Emily looked down and noticed that Jack's head had fallen into her lap and his hand was clutching her shirt. He was fast asleep. She bumped her head against Hotch's arm.

"Looks like someone had a great time," he said, smiling at Emily. "Must have been the good company."

Emily shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a professional." She winked at him and yawned. "Want me to carry him to his room?"

Hotch smirked at her. "If you want. Can you handle it?"

"I'll have you know, Agent Hotchner, that I bench press as much as Morgan on my good days." She kissed her bicep and smirked at him as he bit his lip not to laugh and wake his son. "But yes, I'll be fine. Come with me?"

He nodded. Standing up, he watched as Emily scooped his son into her arms and rested his head against her shoulder like a natural. Aaron Hotchner was definitely impressed.

Emily pushed her legs up and slowly rose, holding Jack tight to her. He was heavy, but definitely manageable. She followed Hotch as he led her up the stairs to Jack's room, and she carefully took each step so as not to slip. She felt Hotch's hand on the small of her back supporting her and bit back a smile.

She walked into Jack's room and waited for Hotch to pull back the blankets for her. When he was ready, she held her hand behind Jack's head as she put him down softly into his bed. He mumbled slightly and rolled over, subconsciously pulling his knees up. Hotch covered him with his blankets, and kissed him on the cheek. The two adults took one last lingering look at the sleeping boy and stepped out of the room.

Emily slid along the hallway and put her back to the wall as she waited for Hotch to close the door quietly to his son's room. He turned to smile at her. "Thanks."

She nodded and returned his smile. "My pleasure. I should get going." She turned to go down the stairs but he caught her wrist. She turned back to him in confusion.

"It's late, Emily. Why don't you just stay? There's a guest room down the hall with extra toiletries if you have your go bag with you, and a private bathroom." Hotch ignored the small voice in his head that berated him for such an open invitation.

Emily had to stop her eyes from widening at his offer. This was definitely new. "Well, I have it. But I'm fine Aaron, it's not a big deal."

"By the time you get to your place you'll waste another half an hour." He pointed to his watch. "It's almost midnight. It'll give you an extra hour of sleep." He had a feeling that she didn't get enough sleep when they were off the clock.

Emily stared at him, chewing her lip. He did have a point. If she was coming back to pick him up in the morning, it would waste another hour if she went home. "Hmmm."

"If you feel uncomfortable staying, then don't worry about it." Hotch started to back track at her hesitance. "I just thought-"

"Hey." She put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not uncomfortable. It's fine." Shoot, she was really going to do this, wasn't she? In the early months of Foyet, she had stayed with him before in his old place on the couch. But that was for protection, not just for the sake of being with him. "I can stay. You're right, it'll save some time."

"Ok." He muffled a yawn and led her down the hall. He opened the door to the spare room and showed her everything. "The bed has clean sheets. Jessica washed them this morning."

"I'm just going to run to my vehicle." She turned to smile at him. "I'll be back in a minute."

Hotch nodded. "Ok. I'll be down the hall. Lock the deadbolt behind you please."

"You got it." Emily stopped before she reached the stairs. She hesitated, but just told herself to do it and placed a very brief kiss on his cheek. "Thanks a lot for tonight, in case I forget to tell you. I haven't had this much fun in a long time." She gave him a large smile and moved back, giving him space.

"No problem." Hotch returned the smile. "We both enjoyed having you." It wasn't completely out of character for her. They had gone out with the team several times and sometimes when everyone had too much to drink, at least one of them would leave a short kiss on the other's cheek. Friends did that. But tonight, they were sober.

"Ok, I'll be back." He nodded and watched her go down the stairs. Standing there for another moment, he made his way to his own bedroom to change into his pajamas. He usually wore just boxers to bed, but that was not going to pass tonight. He heard her come back up the stairs and close the door to the guest bedroom. He was pulling on a pair of pajama pants when a knock came at his door. He moved to open the door, forgetting his shirt.

Emily stared at him standing in the doorway, her mouth slightly open. She mentally slapped herself. "Sorry."

Hotch shot her a guilty look. "No, no it's fine. What's up?"

"I forgot to pack a shirt to sleep in. Do you mind if I borrow one?"

"Of course, one second." He left her at the door, leaving it open. He shuffled around in his drawers for something to give her.

Emily took a moment to look around his room. It was different than the last apartment he was in, there was definitely more space. And he was definitely a little more naked than the last time she was in his room.

"Here, is this ok?" He handed her an old FBI t-shirt.

She smiled at him in thanks. "It's fine. Sorry to bother you."

"No problem. Do you need anything else?"

"No I'm fine. Goodnight, Aaron." She shot him one last smile and turned to go back to the guest bedroom. She slipped into the room, shut the door, and just stood against it until she heard his door close. She slid down to sit on the floor.

What was she doing here? Emily stood up and tried to push her feelings down. She slid into the plush blankets and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't reject her or push her away, even considering how small her advances were, and she was thrilled at that. She sighed and flipped onto her stomach, closing her eyes. Tomorrow she would deal with it, but for now all she wanted to do was sleep. And soon enough, she did just that.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: First off, thanks to all of you lovely people that reviewed the last chapter! I am having a blast writing this story so far, and I partially think that's because of the new season starting up. Love me some CM Wednesdays! On a side note, this is now more than double the word count of my undergraduate thesis that I finished in May…crazy! I hope you are enjoying it and stick along for the ride! My plan is to kind of switch off between the case file and their relationship for now in alternating chapters…we'll see how that goes._

_Disclaimer: See Chapter 1._

Emily's eyes opened slowly and she blinked a few seconds as the fogginess of sleep faded from her brain. She stretched slowly and looked for her cell phone on her bedside table to her left, but she merely grasped at air. Ah yes, she wasn't in her bedroom. The events of the previous night slowly came creeping back into her mind and she smiled at the memories. Yawning again, she moved to reach to the night stand on the other side of the bed when she stopped abruptly.

Jack Hotchner was sound asleep and spooned up against her right side. The little boy was clutching the pillow next to her and he had forgotten to slide under the blankets. Emily stared at him, watching his chest rise slowly, eyelids twitching with his dreams. She didn't want to move, but she needed to know what the time was. Luckily, her decision was made for her as she heard a soft knock at the door. She slowly manoeuvered her way out of the bed, careful as to not wake the sleeping child.

"Hey." Hotch met her eyes as she opened the door and stifled a yawn. "Did he sneak in here?"

Emily nodded and pointed to her bed. "Must have been in the early morning. I didn't even hear him come in." She walked over to the boy and pulled the covers around him. "What time is it?"

"It's only five. I was up early and went to check on him in his room. He must have had a nightmare and came in here looking for Jessica." Hotch stared at his son sleeping in the bed. "Might not even have known it was you instead." He went to collect Jack but Emily put a hand on his arm.

"You can just leave him, I can go get ready in the downstairs bathroom," she insisted. "Jessica will be here pretty soon to look after him right?"

Hotch nodded. "She hasn't texted me yet, but it's still early. I told her that if she was here by six that would give us enough time to be into the office on time."

"Ok, well just let him sleep until then. I just need to grab a few things and then I will sneak out." She looked around the room and her belongings were mostly confined to one area.

"Sure." Hotch shot her a small smile. "Do you need to shower?"

Emily bit her lip. "Yeah, I would like to." She had only used the bathroom on the lower level a few times, but she knew there definitely wasn't one in it. That left her one option if she wasn't going to wake Jack.

"Ok, you'll have to use the one in my room then. Just come over when you're ready, I'll go grab some fresh towels for you." Hotch leaned over to give his son a kiss on the forehead, then tiptoed out of the room.

Emily watched him go and leaned down to sort through her go bag. She pulled out a red sweater and a pair of dress pants, smiling when she saw that nothing was creased too badly. She didn't want to waste time ironing, and she doubted that Hotch would be comfortable doing it for her while she was in the shower. Shooting one last look at the sleeping boy in her bed, she followed Hotch down the hall.

"Hey." He was sitting on his bed with the door open, the news on his television on mute. He swung his legs over and handed her a towel. "If you need anything else, let me know."

"I'm fine, I won't take long." She smiled at him and put her clothes on the sink, biting her tongue at all of the statements that came flooding into her mind at his comment. "Shouldn't be more than ten."

"Okay, I'll go put on some coffee then." He definitely wasn't going to linger there while she was naked in the other room. Not a chance.

She nodded and closed the door. Turning around, she admired her surroundings. This was one epic bathroom.

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Hotch looked up from his kitchen counter as the woman from his thoughts entered the room. "Well Agent Prentiss, is this a new trend I should expect around the office?"

Emily rolled her eyes at him, removing the towel from her head. "Hardly. Thanks, it's all free." She moved past him to the main floor bathroom with her go bag in hand. "Jack's still passed out."

"He's always been a heavy sleeper, just like Haley." Hotch followed her, standing in the doorway while she pulled out her hair dryer and straightener. He handed her a cup of coffee. "I'll be back, take your time."

Emily smiled her gratitude to him and took a sip. She peeked her head out the door and watched him go up the stairs, disappearing into his room. She turned her attention to her hair as she closed the door. Even if Jack was a heavy sleeper she didn't want to take any risks. As she combed her hair out, she took a reality check. This was a little more than she expected from Hotch. Even though it was clear that he wanted to change the boundaries on their friendship and she wasn't opposed to that, she was worried. Worried that she would get too attached to Jack, he would change his mind, and ultimately, that he would break her heart. She put down the hair dryer and picked up the straightener.

Either he would break her heart, or he would be exactly what she needed in her life.

Sighing, she finished her hair and moved onto her makeup. This was too much to think about on a workday. Taking another sip of her coffee, she checked her appearance in the mirror. A knock on the door startled her.

"Hey, you hungry?" Hotch stood on the other side, his hair still glistening from his shower. "I'm going to make waffles."

Emily's eyes widened. "Do we have time for that?" She checked her watch and noticed it was quarter to six.

Hotch nodded. "It only takes about ten minutes. Jack's been bugging me to do it for a while. Do you mind?"

"No not at all. Do you need a hand?"

"No I'm fine." Hotch watched her collect her belongings and put them into her go bag. "Come find me when you're ready." He picked up her empty coffee cup and left her to get organized.

Emily bit her lip to keep a smile from breaking out. JJ would have a field day if she found out that Hotch was making her waffles. Hell, she would have a field day knowing Emily had stayed overnight his condo. Emily checked the counter to make sure she had everything and turned the light out in the bathroom, her towel swung over her shoulder. She crept back upstairs to the guest bedroom, smiling as she saw Jack still fast asleep in the bed. She tiptoed around the room and gathered the rest of her belongings along with her gun and holster and slipped out of the room with one last glance at the little boy.

Hotch caught her eye as she came down the stairs and took a seat on the barstool in front of him. He was pouring the first of the waffles into a waffle maker. "How many would you like?"

"One should be enough, thank you." Emily's eyes shifted to the sounds of a key being inserted into the door. "I think Jessica's here."

Sure enough, a second later the blonde emerged through the threshold. "Oh, good morning Emily. I thought that was your vehicle out front."

Emily gave her a large smile. "Good morning. Coffee?" She moved around the island to grab the pot and refill her own cup.

"Yes please!" Jessica took a cup of the hot liquid gratefully from Emily. "Wow Aaron, you're going all out this morning. I'm flattered."

"I had to impress our guest here," Hotch answered, shooting Emily a wink. "She's been showing me up with her culinary skills. I had to get back in the game somehow."

Jessica smiled at him, checking her watch. "How was my little man last night?"

"He snuck into the guest room last night and cuddled up with Emily. Probably had a nightmare and was looking for you," Hotch explained. "He's still asleep. We were up late last night watching a movie so he'll probably sleep until at least eight."

Jessica nodded, sipping her coffee. She noticed the way that Emily had looked away when her brother-in-law had spilled the beans about her spending the night. Interesting development, very interesting. "Sounds good. You guys taking off soon?"

Hotch put three plates out in front of him and started dividing out the waffles. "Pretty soon. About ten minutes or so."

"Thanks Aaron, this looks delicious," Emily said, digging into her food. She poured some syrup onto her plate that Hotch passed to her. "You're spoiling me."

Hotch shrugged. "It's the least I could do." He turned to his sister-in-law. "Did Jack tell you about Monday?"

Jessica nodded. "The museum right? That'll be great for him, I wish I could make it."

"You're not going to join us?" Jessica shook her head at Hotch.

"No, I have some things I have to do around the house." She took a bite of her waffle. "You'll be there though, won't you Emily?"

The brunette nodded. "Yes, as long as nothing comes in." Emily finished off the last of her breakfast and walked over to the dishwasher to put her plate in. "Thanks that was great."

"No problem." Hotch put his dish away and closed the dishwasher door. "Are you ready to go?" He watched Emily finish the last of her coffee and nod. "Ok, let's get going. I'm just going to run up and give Jack a kiss and then I'm good to go."

"Sure, I'll go start the car." Emily picked up her go bag from the kitchen floor. "It was nice to see you Jessica. Enjoy your Saturday. Give Jack a hug for me when he gets up." She gave the blonde one last smile and let herself out the front door.

Hotch watched her go. When he turned around, he saw the mischievous glance in Jessica's eyes. "What?"

"Oh nothing. Did you enjoy your evening Aaron?" The grin on her face was growing by the second.

"Yes, it was nice." He knew what was going on immediately. And he definitely didn't have time for it. "Sorry, I'll be right back."

"Sure." The blonde watched him go up the stairs to the guest room, reappearing a few minutes later. "She likes you, you know."

"Who?" Hotch picked up his briefcase and holster from the kitchen table.

"You're not a stupid man Aaron. Tell me you don't notice it." Jessica stared at him as he continued to get ready. She followed him as he walked over to the closet to get his coat.

Hotch shot her a look. "We're friends and coworkers. That's all there is to it."

"For right now there is," Jessica said, pointing out the door. "She's interested Aaron. Don't ignore it."

"Can we talk about this later?" He looked at his watch. "I'll call you later this afternoon. Tell Jack I'll see him tonight."

"Alright, but this isn't over." Jessica handed Hotch his briefcase and keys, her eyes twinkling. "Have a good day Aaron."

Hotch gave her a quick smile and slipped out his front door. He sighed as the cold air hit his face. He was not looking forward to that interrogation. He looked at Emily waiting in the car, looking down at her phone. She looked beautiful. He almost slipped up when he was talking to her in the bathroom, but he knew if he commented on how good she looked it would definitely make things awkward. He didn't want to admit it to Jessica, but he did have feelings for Emily that were growing daily. And soon, he was going to do something about it. Maybe even after this case was over.

"Hey, ready?" Emily looked up from her phone as Hotch slid into the front seat.

"Yes, I'm good." He gave her a smile as she pulled the vehicle out onto the street.

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As Emily and Hotch walked into the bullpen together, Garcia ran up to the two of them. "Good morning sir! I have some new developments." She handed Hotch a folder.

"You're in early," Emily commented, giving her friend a smile.

The blonde analyst smiled back. "I wanted to catch you before you left. And I have a training seminar this morning in half an hour so I'll be out of commission for a few hours. "

Hotch opened the folder and scanned his eyes over the printouts. "How far back do these date?" He handed the folder to Emily to let her take a look at the paperwork. They were listings of credit card purchases from the coffee shop where Charlotte Bandsmith worked. Purchases made by Peter Milton.

"To at least 2009, one year before he killed his first victim. But there's more," Garcia explained, shuffling through the documents and pulling out the ones at the back of the folder.

"A patient file for Milton from the same hospital that Charlotte works at," Emily said, reading the document. "Hotch, when you were talking to Milton yesterday you told him that Charlotte was working at a local library. When he blinked, he must have been reacting to the fact that you were bluffing."

"That means that the only way he would have known that is if he knew Charlotte when she worked at the hospital. So she must have treated him or spoken to him when he was admitted." Hotch turned to Garcia.

"I did indeed look into that, and Charlotte was working the night shift as a volunteer the same evening that Milton came in." Garcia pointed to the bottom of the patient file.

"That's good work, Garcia," Hotch complimented. "We're heading back now to speak with Milton. Keep us updated when you finish your course and are back at your desk."

"Yes sir. See you soon my sugar blossom." The blonde winked at Emily, and walked out of the bullpen. Reid held the door for her as he walked in.

"Hey, sorry I'm late." The genius looked at the folder in Emily's hands. "She's in early."

"She's taking a course," Emily told him, handing him the folder. "She found a connection between Charlotte and Milton. He visited the ER the same evening that Charlotte happened to be volunteering."

"What hospital?"

"Sibley Memorial, the same one she works at now." Emily turned to Hotch. "If she met him before, she's hiding it from us."

"Keep it in mind for now, and inform JJ and Rossi. It might come in handy for their interviews." Emily nodded and pulled out her phone, texting her colleagues. "Reid, are you ready to head over?"

"Yes, I'm good to go." The young doctor slid the folder into his side bag.

"Alright, let's head down." Hotch waited for Emily to finish her messages and then led her and Reid out of the bullpen.

The drive to the psychiatric facility was relatively quiet, with Reid's nose stuck in a file and Emily twiddling her thumbs while she stared out the window. Hotch pulled the vehicle into an empty stall and turned towards Emily and Reid. "Prentiss, are you comfortable with leading the interview today?"

Emily nodded. "Absolutely. Am I going in solo?"

"To start off with, yes. I'll watch how it goes and if you need backup I'll send someone in," Hotch explained. "Try to relate with him on the places he's travelled to."

"You got it." Emily flipped down the passenger sun visor and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "I'm just going to touch up my makeup." She did fit the victim profile after all, so if she was going to break him she might have to entice him at some point. It was just part of the job, and she had done it before. She pulled out her lipstick and put on a fresh layer. "Ok good to go."

Hotch nodded in confirmation and the three of them gathered their boxes and walked towards the entrance. When they got inside one of the receptionists caught their attention. "Dr. Winslow requested you meet her in Hall B, Room 113. It's just adjacent to where you were yesterday, but I can show you the way. She has the patient there now."

Emily gave the woman a smile, looking at her name badge briefly. "Thank you Wanda. That would be great." She juggled the box of photos she was carrying on one hip, waiting for the receptionist to come around to their side.

"Okay, please follow me." Wanda the receptionist led them down the hall, around a few corners, and into Hall B. She stopped in front of a room and smiled at the agents. "Good luck, see you again in a bit."

Hotch nodded his thanks and held the door for Emily and Reid. Similar to the interview room they were in the previous day, this one was separated by a two-way mirror.

Mallory Winslow was sitting in a chair, looking at Milton stare at the wall in the other room. She turned to the agents and gave them a tight smile. "Good Morning. We got an early start today, I hope you don't mind me arranging things."

Hotch shook his head. "Not at all. How long has he been waiting?"

"Only about fifteen minutes or so. Not a word from him."

"Ok, Prentiss are you ready?" Hotch turned to the brunette and watched as she took off her jacket.

"Yes." Emily rolled up her sleeves and ran a hand through her hair. It was show time.


End file.
